Kung Fu Panda 3: Family Reunions
by Celino
Summary: Po is brought news of a Panda village lying hidden beyond the Mysterious Mountains. Seeking answers as to where he came from, he and the Furious Five travel to the village, where they find more than what they expected. In the meantime, a dark sorcerer plots his revenge on the Valley of Peace, leading to one warrior to make a decision that may cost them, and China, dearly.
1. Prologue: Legend of Long

_Author's note: Hi everybody! I had started writing this fanfiction a while ago, but abandond it, as I could never think of a good idea for a 'bad guy' or a a good way to introduce the story. The other day, however, I was watching Kung Fu Panda 2 and was re inspired to continue writing this story. Now, I have an introduction and my first couple of chapter written, and I feel confident enough to post it here._

_I hope you enjoy reading it, and please, if you have any ideas on how to improve my writing style, or any plot devices you think would fit well, please feel free to let me know._

_Now, on with the story!_

_~..~..~..~.._

_Prologue: The Legend of Long._

_Many years ago, the Valley of Peace was ruled by a mighty sorcerer: The Dragon, Long._

_He had the power to control the five elements of Earth, Wood, Metal, Water and Fire, yet his most feared power was the ability to control the bodies of others. All in his command were afraid to even trust their friends and family, for fear that Long would be there, hidden behind their loved one's eyes, listening._

_Long's tyranny of fear and control lasted many arduous years, until one day, a young tortoise came to the valley._

_Oogway had spent time in isolation, developing a new method of defense using the powers of harmony and focus to create Kung Fu, which Long had never seen before._

_Upon sighting Oogway using this new form of defense to protect a young family in the valley from his tiger soldiers, Long was intrigued, and invited Oogway to his palace._

_Oogway graciously demonstrated his skill for the sorcerer, explaining how the mind and body can work together to achieve excellence, hoping that Long would wish to learn, and so change his ways through the values that Kung Fu taught._

_Long was most eager to learn, but not for the reasons Oogway hoped. And once Long believed that he had learnt enough from Oogway, he turned on him._

_But Oogway, while hopeful, had not been foolish. For he had not taught Long everything... _

_Oogway was able to defeat Long, and trapped him in an isolated prison built specifically to contain him which restrained both his body and his magic. The tiger soldiers were made outcasts, as the villagers refused to believe that they had been controlled by magic to do Long's bidding. And for over one hundred years, no tiger was permitted to enter the valley, as the people still lived in fear of Long's powerful soldiers._

_The Jade Palace, which had once belonged to Long, became a beacon of justice and wisdom, as Oogway transformed it into a place of Kung Fu. And since then, the Valley of Peace gained its name, never again knowing life under a tyrannical rule._

_However, Long still remains in his prison, his body bound by chains and his magic blocked by chi, preventing him from escaping using kung fu, or by manipulating the metal and stone that made his prison._

_His mind, however, has remained just as active as always, and it was Oogway's fear that Long would somehow find a way to use his mind to extend his magical reach beyond his isolation, enact his revenge and reign once more over the Valley of Peace._

_~..~..~..~.._

_Author's note: On Wikipedia, it is said that the villan in Kung Fu Panda 3 will be 'the most formidable yet'. Now, in the first movie, they had Tai Lung and he was a Kung Fu master. Then in the second movie, they had Lord Shen and his invention of the cannon. I was trying to think: what could be bigger than that? And I remembered the magic surrounding the chinese legends, the five elements and the knowledge that was coveted. I then saw the third 'Mummy' movie and was inspired by the Emperor to create Long, who I envision as a Komodo Dragon._


	2. Chapter 1: The Quest Begins

Author's note: Here's chapter 2! I try to give everycharacter a chance to have a part in each chapter, but this is going to essentially be a Po and Tigress centric story -Not a romance! I think that while they care for each other as friends, and have their adoption in common, they are too different to become romantically involved.

I don't own the classic characters of Kung Fu Panda- only the original ones in this story.

~..~..~..~..

It had been almost a year since the defeat of Lord Shen, and The Valley of peace had been living up to its name, more or less. There had been trouble with bandits and rival cities, or Po messing up and unleashing a dangerous power, but everything always worked out in the end.

Everything continued as usual, and when the sun rose on this particular day, there was nothing to suggest that Po's world, as well as others' were about to be turned upside down.

"Hi-ya!" Viper knocked down her final target, landing lightly in the middle of the courtyard, bowing gracefully.

"Woah, Viper that was totally awesome!" Po cheered.

Tigress frowned. They were supposed to be _critiquing_ each other's technique. Shifu wanted them to be able to asses each other more often.

"I think you need to work more on hiding your attacks," Crane told Viper. "A few times, I could see you telegraphing what you were about to do."

Viper bowed to accept the advice calmly.

"I noticed you hesitating a couple of times," Tigress voiced her observation thoughtfully. "While it's good to analyse, you can't let your opponent have time to regroup and attack."

"Yeah," Mantis agreed. "You're too nice, Viper."

"What's wrong with that?" Po asked. "You can still defeat an opponent without causing them permanent damage. That's what having _contro_l is all about. You were great, Viper."

"Po," Tigress sighed. "Shifu told us to _critique_ each other. And while Viper is good, there is always something to improve on."

"But Viper _is_ nice, that's who she is," Po objected. "And I don't understand why you're telling her that she has to change that part of herself to be better. Kung Fu is about 'excellence of self', but if you have to change who you are to be excellent, then you're not being the best that you can be, you're being the best that…someone else can be."

"But if you change who you are," Monkey interjected, "then you're becoming a new version of yourself, so it's still you."

"Aaah!" Po gripped his head in frustration. "You're not getting it!"

"No," Tigress countered, "_you're_ not getting it."

"Actually," a voice said, "I think you're all getting it."

The Masters turned towards the doors of the Jade Palace to find Master Shifu standing behind them, Oogway's staff in hand. He'd been observing his students for some time and decided to let his presence be known.

All six of the Masters bowed in respect.

"Master Shifu," They greeted.

"Morning Master," Po continued. "But, uh, what do you mean: we're all getting it?"

"Yeah, we were arguing," Mantis added.

Shifu calmly came forward, his robes swishing slightly on the stone steps.

"The reason I asked you to take more control of assessing each other, was so that you could each gain knowledge from each other, and as such, develop more yourselves." Shifu explained. "By discussing the feedback you give each other, not only are you each gaining knowledge on what you have to improve on, but you are also gaining a new perspective on what Kung Fu means to each of you."

Po stared. "So…" he began, "you got us to assess our Kung Fu, so that we would end up arguing about Kung Fu, as a way to learn more about Kung Fu?"

"In a nutshell," Shifu granted.

"That's cool," Po stated.

"Master Shifu!" Zang flew over the Palace walls in a flurry of feathers. "I have a message from Master Bunny."

"Master Bunny?" Po repeated as Shifu accepted the letter, and the Furious Five braced themselves for a Po fan-rant.

"Master Bunny was the first women to gain a position on the Master's council!" Po gushed. "She studied with Master Oogway himself, under the guise of a man, thinking that she wouldn't be accepted otherwise, but Oogway saw who she really was and trained her anyway, believing that Kung Fu should be open to anyone who wanted to learn. When she gained the rank of Master, she revealed her true identity to everybody else and was shunned by her family, but still went on to form a Kung Fu school open to girls, so that they could learn, revolutionising Kung Fu forever."

"She trained with you, didn't she, Master Shifu?" Tigress asked.

"Yes," Shifu answered. "Oogway accepted her as a student not long after I pledged myself to Kung Fu."

"What was it like, training with a girl back in those days?" Po asked curiously, not noticing Viper and Tigress turn their gaze on him, unsure if he was implying an insult or not.

"Much like you find training with Tigress and Viper, I assume," Shifu answered, calmly. "Now, you must all clean up the courtyard. Master Bunny is on her way here. She says she has an urgent message for you, Dragon Warrior, which she would like to deliver personally."

"Master Bunny wants to talk to _me_?" Po froze for a moment before rushing around the courtyard, picking up stray weapons and broken wood.

"Come on, guys," he called out, "we've gotta clean up!"

"Never mind that it's been his job to clean up all week," Tigress muttered before she and the others leaped into action and in a short time, the courtyard was spotless.

As the main gate was unbolted, Po could barely contain his excitement as Shifu and his students lined up to greet the visiting Master.

"I can't believe Master Bunny is coming to the Jade Palace to see me!" The panda gushed. "I wonder what she wants?"

"Why don't you just wait for the gate to open and she'll tell you herself," Tigress hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

Finally, the heavy gate was opened to reveal a bunny a little younger than Shifu, dressed in white and green robes.

"Announcing: Master Bunny, from the Silver Palace!"

Shifu and the six Masters bowed in greeting.

"Welcome to the Jade Palace, Master Bunny," Shifu greeted formally.

"Thank you for accepting me at such short notice, Master Shifu," Master Bunny said graciously as she entered the grounds. "It's good to see you again." She bowed to her old friend and former training companion.

"And you," Shifu bowed.

Master Bunny then turned to his students.

"The Furious Five, and the Dragon Warrior," she greeted. "The six of you are possibly the most famous Kung Fu Warriors in China at the moment, after your defeat of Lord Shen." Moving slowly along the line of students, she addressed them each in turn.

"Master Monkey: Tales of your speed and skill have travelled even to my home at the Silver Palace, and several of my students have you as their inspiration when working on their more acrobatic skills."

"Thank you, Master Bunny," Monkey bowed. "It is an honour to be able to help inspire others in Kung Fu."

"Master Crane: Your skills and grace with deflection are the epitome of a Martial Art, for you truly make every move not only precise and deadly, but beautiful as well."

"Thank you Master Bunny." Crane bowed. "I'm honoured that you think so highly of me."

"Master Mantis." Master Bunny continued. "You will always be a reminder that everyone who practices Martial Arts has the advantage in a battle, no matter their size. The difference is, that the winner knows their advantage and uses it to its fullest extent. And you clearly do just that."

"Thank you Master Bunny," Mantis bowed.

"Master Viper: I offered you a place at my school, and yet you chose to come to the Jade Palace." She smiled. "I can understand. Shifu is a very good teacher, you are clearly a credit to him."

"Thank you, Master Bunny." Viper bowed.

Bunny turned to Tigress.

"Master Tigress: yet another student I offered to teach at my school, and chose to be with Shifu." She smiled. "You and Viper are quite possibly the most famous at my school, and inspire my students to be the best they can be." Master Bunny turned to look at Shifu. "You have clearly taught your students well, Shifu."

"Thank you, Master Bunny," Shifu bowed. "I am indeed, very proud of them all."

Tigress bowed to Master Bunny.

"Thank you, Master." She said, standing up a little taller. "I am proud to be a credit to my teacher."

"You certainly are that, Tigress," Master Bunny granted. Tigress bowed once more.

Finally, Master Bunny came to stand before Po.

"Ah, the reason for my visit," Master Bunny smiled. "The Dragon Warrior himself. Your ability to learn Kung Fu so quickly has made you an inspiration, and your victory in defeating Tai Lung and Lord Shen has travelled all across China, to even the most isolated villages in the land."

"Wow, really?" Po asked, before remembering his manners and bowing. "Thank you, Master Bunny. And may I say, you're a real inspiration yourself. The way you infiltrated the Assassin's League to take down the whole organisation and saved the Emperor's life was totally amazing! You changed the way China viewed Kung Fu and showed the world that girls can kick butt!"

One of Master Bunny's ears twitched, and she turned her gaze to Shifu, who sighed.

"Yes, he's always like this," Shifu explained.

"Well," Master Bunny turned back to Po, "Then it is time I say what I came to tell you, Dragon Warrior. I have just recently discovered something which, I imagine, would be of great interest to you."

"What is it?" Po asked. "Is there a new Kung Fu exhibit opening in the museum or something?"

Master Bunny shook her head, and Shifu was impressed that she didn't roll her eyes. "Would you prefer to speak in private?"

"Oh no, I've got no secrets from these guys," Po assured Master Bunny.

"Very well," Master Bunny granted. "I travel very often to outlying villages, searching for those with a talent for learning martial arts, who would otherwise miss the opportunity to learn, and recently, I came across a village that I had never seen or heard of before."

"A mysterious hidden village?" Po repeated. This sounded interesting, but Po didn't get why Master Bunny would think this would be for him, specifically.

"You know the prophesy that the Soothsayer gave to Lord Shen, yes?" Master Bunny continued carefully.

"Yeah," Po answered slowly. "She predicted that a Panda would stand between Shen and his destiny, so Shen set out to kill all the Pandas."

"Well, he did not succeed," Master Bunny told Po.

"No, he didn't!" The Dragon Warrior leapt into fighting position. "For one Panda survived to become the Dragon Warrior and Defeat Lord Shen!"

Master Bunny smiled.

"Actually, there were quite a few more than just one Panda," she said casually.

In the middle of doing a couple of punches, Po registered what Master Bunny said, and promptly fell over.

"What did you just say?" He asked, scrabbling to his feet.

Master Bunny bounced lightly on the balls of her feet.

"More than one Panda survived Lord Shen's attack." She repeated, a smile tugging at her mouth. "The hidden village I found…was a village full of Pandas."

"A village full of…" Po's voice trailed off as he sat down in shock, his five friends and his teacher staring at Master Bunny with wide eyes.

"And even there, they heard of your defeat of Lord Shen," Master Bunny continued. "Their own Soothsayer saw it in a vision he had. And I was able to add to your story, about how you became the Dragon warrior and defeated Tai Lung, protecting the Valley of Peace. I immediately offered to send you word of their existence, as I'm sure you would be happy to hear that your village lives on, and your family still live."

"My family?" Po shot to his feet once more. "I have family?"

"Yes," Master Bunny, smiled as she pulled a scroll from a pocket of her robe. "Your father and cousin survived Lord Shen's attack, and they asked me to give you this. It is for your eyes only, Dragon Warrior."

"Woah," Po whispered taking the scroll reverently. "I have a father and cousin somewhere?"

"The village lies on the other side of the Mysterious Mountains," Master Bunny told him.

"The Mysterious Mountains?" Crane piped up, as Po was still focused on the scroll in his hands. "It's supposed to be impossible to get through those. That's why they're called 'The Mysterious Mountains."

"And that's most likely why the Panda Village has been kept hidden and safe, all these years," Master Bunny granted, before turning back to Po. "Master Oogway always said that everything happens for a reason. That there are no accidents." Po looked slowly up from the scroll to meet the Master's wise and kind eyes. "I think I found the village for a reason- to tell you that it exists. I believe that, with the defeat of Lord Shen, it is now safe for your brethren to rejoin the world, and for you to lead them back."

Po closed his hands tightly around the scroll he held, before bringing it to his chest, as if afraid someone will take it from him.

Seeing that the panda was clearly overwhelmed, Master Bunny thought that he had had enough news for one day, and deserved time alone to read the letter.

"My promise to the pandas is fulfilled," she said as she straightened up. "It is time I return to the Silver Palace."

"Wait!" Po snapped out of his reverie. "You can't leave now! You've actually been to the village! You saw Pandas, like me! I have so many questions!"

Master Bunny smiled.

"Why ask _me_ the questions, when you can go to the village and ask your brethren yourself?" She asked, handing over a second scroll.

"This map will show you the route we took to get through the mountains, and to the Panda village."

Po accepted the second scroll carefully.

"Thank you, Master Bunny," Po's voice shook slightly as he bowed low.

Bunny bowed back, before bowing to each of the five in turn. Bowing one last time to Shifu, Master Bunny took her leave.

Po stood frozen in the courtyard once the gate was closed, staring down at the two scrolls in his hands.

"Po?" Tigress ventured cautiously.

The Panda turned around to look at his friends.

"There's a Panda village on the other side of the Mysterious Mountains." He told them. "You guys heard that too, right?"

"Yes, Po," Tigress confirmed. "We heard it."

"Your father is still alive," Viper added. "And you have a cousin."

Po looked down at the two scrolls in his hands. Turning quickly to Master Shifu, he bowed.

"Master Shifu, I request permission to go to the Panda village." He asked formally, determined to show Shifu how much this trip meant to him.

But he needn't have worried.

"Of _course _you may go, Po." Shifu granted. "I realize this is very important for you. For all of us. History tells us that Shen killed all the pandas, and now we have proof that he didn't. The history books shall be re written."

Po grinned and turned to his friends.

"You guys are coming too, right?"

Tigress was surprised. "Are you sure you want us to come?" She asked, not wanting to get in the way of something so important. She knew she would do almost anything to find answers as to why she was left so long ago at the Baogong Orphanage, and didn't want to risk ruining this for her friend.

"Of course I want you guys to come!" Po exclaimed, beginning to burst with all the energy that was building inside him. "This is probably the biggest thing that's ever happened to me since becoming the Dragon Warrior and beating Shen! And both times, you guys were there. I can't do this on my own."

Looking down once more at the scrolls which he had yet to open, Po looked up to see his friends standing around him.

"Then we will come with you," Tigress vowed.

Po could feel the excitement and anticipation filling him to bursting point.

"All right!" He cheered. "Kung Fu road trip!"

"Uh, Po?" Viper put forward gently, "what about Mr Ping?"

Po froze.

"Oh my gosh. Dad! What's he gonna say when he finds out I'm gonna go meet my dad? Woah," Po swayed slightly on the spot as the reality appeared to hit him.

"I have two dads."

"And a cousin," Monkey added.

Po sat heavily on the ground. He had two dads…

~..~..~..~.

Down in the village, Mr Ping's Noodle Shop was running business as usual. Mr Ping was rushing around his kitchen, making noodles, chopping vegetables and delivering dishes to his customers.

Outside his kitchen, he heard an excited murmur.

"The Dragon Warrior!"

"Po!" Mr Ping dropped his knife and ran outside where he greeted his son joyously. "Good morning son! What brings you here?"

"Morning dad," Po began, seeming awkward. "Uh, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course, son." Mr Ping led his boy back into the kitchen where they could talk while he worked.

"It's good to see you son," Mr Ping hugged his boy before returning to work.

"Good to see you too, dad," Po said. "Listen, I can't stay long. The guys and I are about to start a journey to a village in the Mysterious Mountains."

"The Mysterious Mountains?" Mr Ping repeated, "Why do you have to go there?"

"Well, that's kind of what I need to talk to you about." Po answered, taking a breath. "You see, Master Bunny visited the Jade Palace this morning, and she told us that she found a hidden village in the Mysterious Mountains."

"Uh-huh," Mr Ping commented as he chopped.

"And she said that the village was filled with pandas," Po finished.

THUD.

Mr Ping dropped his heavy chopping knife onto the wooden board in shock.

"What?"

"A whole village, dad. Filled with pandas, just like me." Po came forward. "And that's not all: Apparently…my birth father survived Shen's attack."

Mr Ping began to shake. _Not again…he couldn't lose his son again…_

Po kneeled down to look his father in the eyes.

"I'm your son, dad. And I always will be." Po told him. "But I have a birth father too. He and my mother risked their lives to save me from Shen's attack. I have to meet him, and the other pandas. I owe them that, at least."

Mr Ping rushed forward to embrace his son.

"But I don't want to lose you again," he told his son, his voice cracking slightly with fear.

He felt Po's strong arms encircling him, returning the hug.

"You'll never lose me, dad." Po promised. "You raised me. I'll always be your son."

"Po?" Tigress called from outside.

"I've gotta go, dad." Po excused himself. "I'll be back soon, I promise!"

As he watched his son race outside, Mr Ping followed, standing outside his restaurant, he watched his son, the Dragon Warrior, run away from him until he was out of sight.

"I miss you, son," Mr Ping whispered. "Please come back."

~..~..~..~..

The six warriors followed the map that Master Bunny had given them, and they travelled for days, through cities, forests and canyons until they were finally within sight of the Mysterious Mountains, which stood resolutely in the distance, covered by a constant cloud of mist, so that no one could ever see how tall they really were.

Po stared at the mountains that loomed ahead of them. On the other side of those mountains were pandas. They were the people he could have grown up with. He'll get to meet his cousin, his dad…and finally get the answers to all the questions that he could never get the answers to.

That night, while his friends were asleep, Po sat beside the camp fire, holding the scroll that contained his father's letter.

He still hadn't read it. He wanted to. He soooo wanted to read it. But…

"Why haven't you read your letter yet?"

Po jumped, covering his mouth to suppress a startled cry.

"Apologies," Tigress sat up carefully. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's okay," Po told his friend.

"So," Tigress prompted, leaning forward. "Why haven't you read your father's letter yet?"

Po swallowed. Tigress had been adopted by Shifu, he reminded himself. If any one of his friends could understand, she could.

He sighed.

"I'm afraid to read it." He admitted.

"Afraid?" Tigress queried.

"I really want to read it," Po admitted. "I _so_ want to read it. I mean, this is my _biological father_, the guy who risked his life to try and protect me from Lord Shen's attack when I was a baby. That must mean he loves me, right?"

Tigress nodded, not wanting to interrupt.

"But…" Po looked down at the scroll in his hands. "Why didn't he come back with Master Bunny to meet me himself? Why send a letter? Does he have responsibilities at the village? Did he get remarried? Why didn't he try to find me sooner?"

"I'm sure the answers to those questions will be either in that letter, or in the village," Tigress told him surely.

Po looked up at his friend. They saw Kung Fu completely differently, yet this one major thing they had in common: They were both adopted, and both wanted answers as to why.

"What would you do, Tigress?" Po asked.

Tigress looked into the flickering flames of the fire, thinking.

"I would read the letter," she told him. "For any answer, finally, would be better than forever wondering about questions."

Po smiled slightly before nodding.

"Thanks Tigress."

Taking a breath, Po pulled the scroll open and began reading.

Tigress settled back down on the ground, turning her back to the fire to give her friend what privacy she could.

"Goodnight Po," she said, before closing her eyes.

As she drifted off to sleep to the sound of the crackling fire, she began to wonder, yet again, about her biological family.

What _would_ she do, if she ever got the chance to meet them?

As Tigress turned away to give him space, Po's eyes scanned the words etched onto the parchment scroll.

_'My dearest son,_

_It gladdens my heart to finally find that you are alive and well. When Lord Shen attacked, I told your mother to take you and run. When she was found dead the following day, I feared the worst for you._

_But now, Master Bunny has informed us that you are alive and well, and I saw a vision of you myself, defeating Lord Shen as the prophesy foretold. For many years we lived in fear that, if any of us left our new home, that Lord Shen would rise to strike us down once more._

_But now that the threat of Shen is over, the universe has granted us this wondrous chance, and I would love for you to come to our village, and meet those who would have been your family and friends, had you grown up as one of us._

_Every day I thank the universe for delivering you to safety, and I thank whichever kind family took you in, and opened their home and hearts to you._

_I'm sure you have many questions, my son. As do I. And I look forward to speaking with you and having the opportunity to ask and answer all of them._

_I gave Master Bunny permission to reveal the location of our village to you. Please come to our village, son. I look forward to seeing the baby son I lost long ago, as the strong warrior with a brave heart, that you have grown into._

_Your Father,_

_Xi-Wong.'_

"Xi-Wong," Po whispered, wiping the tears trailing down his face. 'My father's name is Xi-Wong.'

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: What do you think? I hope you like Master Bunny! I'm not sure about the rules of women learning Kung Fu through history, but so far Tigress and Viper are the only official female Kung Fu practitioners I've seen. All the Masters that Po raves about have all been male, as far as I know. I know the Wu sisters were in the 'legends of the Masters' but they were criminals, not Masters, so could have learned 'illegally'?

I'm not sure, but I do know that in Ancient China women were forbidden to enter the army (yes, I did base Master Bunny's story around Mulan- I love that movie!) so I assume that allowing women to train in Kung Fu is only a recent development in the Kung Fu Panda world.

Thoughts? Comments? Queries?

Please review.


	3. Chapter 2: Surprises at the Village

Author's note: So here's chapter 3! Po and the Five reach the Panda village!

~..~..~..~..

The following day, the six warriors travelled across the plains towards the Mysterious Mountains. Using the map Master Bunny had given them, Tigress and Crane found a well hidden tunnel that led through the mountains, and so the group eventually made it through to the other side of the mountains by mid afternoon, to find a bamboo forest stretching out before them.

"According to the map," Crane reported, "the Panda village is on the other side of that bamboo forest."

"Woah," Po breathed. All of his answers were waiting on the other side of that bamboo. He was so close…

"Po?"

Po looked up to meet Tigress' eyes. All of his friends were there with him. They had come on this journey with him, not for the glory of China, but to help him.

Seriously. Could he have better friends than these guys?

"Thanks for coming with me, guys" Po told them sincerely.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Monkey said casually.

"You'd do the same for us, Po." Viper added.

Po took a deep breath. He was going to meet his family.

"Okay." He announced, ready. "Let's do this."

~..~..~..~..

As the six warriors arrived at the edge of the bamboo forest, Tigress held out an arm, warning her comrades to stop.

"We're being watched." She stated, her golden eyes scanning the area.

Suddenly, a figure landed in front of them, causing the Masters to crouch into fighting positions.

The figure was small, and clothed entirely in black and green, perfect camouflage for travelling in the shadowy bamboo forest.

"My name is Da-Xia." The creature in black and green stated, and the six Masters were surprised to hear the voice of a young girl. "And I am one of the protectors of this land. State your business or leave. Unless you want to die."

"Woah, there." Po placated, stepping forward. "Hang on a minute, we were invited."

"You were?" The figure queried.

"Yep. Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, at your service." Po announced, getting into a fighting stance.

"Wow, it is you? Master Bunny gave you Xi-Wong's message?" Da-Xia removed the mask covering her face, and the Masters were further surprised to see that, not only was she a young girl, but also a tiger.

The young tiger bowed respectfully to the six Masters. "We are so grateful that you could come, Dragon Warrior. Your people have missed you."

Po and the Five bowed back.

"Our pleasure, Da-Xia." Po replied confidently. "I look forward to meeting everyone."

Da-Xia smiled. "You may find more surprises here than anything else." She said, flicking her gaze over Po and Tigress, before turning and roaring loudly. "Just letting the others know that you're here." She explained.

"Others?" Crane asked. Just then a second roar, followed by three more could be heard echoing through the forest.

"Okay, follow me!" Da-Xia called, jumping into the foliage as Po and the Five followed their new guide.

As they ran, Tigress couldn't help noticing how Da-Xia was always running near her. If Tigress leapt and began running on one side of the forest trail, Da-Xia would mirror her a few feet ahead.

What was she doing?

Suddenly, a new tiger could be seen running alongside their guide. This one was a male, even younger than Da-Xia.

"Wow, you're finally here!" He cheered. "Hi Master Tigress!"

"Cheng!" Da-Xia shouted in exasperation. "You were supposed to get dad and Xi-Wong!"

"Maylin, Wei and Lian are doing it." Cheng answered. "I wanted to meet Tigress and the Five, and The Dragon-"

"Everyone will get to meet them at the village." Da-Xia stated firmly. "It's not like you'll miss out."

"Can I at least lead them in?" Cheng whined.

"No! That's my job." Da-Xia said stubbornly. "Now get going!"

"Fine." Cheng said, poking out his tongue at her before running in another direction.

"Sorry about that." Da-Xia called down. "Little brothers are _so_ annoying."

After a few more minutes of running, the group broke through the forest edge, and were brought to a sharp stand still by the scene before them.

A crowd of villagers had gathered to greet them. Some were cheering, most were bowing in respect.

And they were all Pandas.

Po was gob-smacked. Part of his brain knew his mouth was hanging open, but the other part was too shocked to close it. It was one thing to be told there was a village of pandas, but to actually see it…

Da-Xia smiled as she stepped forward, leading the group into the village.

Tigress realized they were being very unprofessional, standing there gaping.

Nudging Po, Tigress fell into step behind the Dragon Warrior as she and her friends were led forward to greet two figures who appeared to be the leaders of the Village.

On the right stood a large Panda, dressed in Green robes, similar to what Shifu sometimes wore. He appeared to be some sort of spiritual leader, and his eyes were fixated on Po.

On the left was a large, male tiger, clearly a warrior, dressed in dark blue. Presumably, this was the father that Da-Xia mentioned. Tigress' assumption was confirmed when Da-Xia reached the larger male and hugged him before joining four cubs lined up behind him. Da Xia appeared to be the eldest, and Tigress could see Cheng at the far end, waving to her enthusiastically.

"My son, The Dragon Warrior." The Panda leader began as he came forward and bowed. "And The Furious Five of the Jade Palace. My name is Xi-Wong. Welcome to our village."

"My name is Li." The large tiger added, bowing as well. "We are very honored and grateful that you have come." His eyes seemed to never leave Tigress, and while she found it slightly unnerving, she met his gaze determinedly.

"You're all…Pandas." Po began, still in shock. "Except for you, Li and your family." He amended quickly. He turned back to Xi-Wong.

"I got your letter," he said softly.

Xi-Wong came forward, smiling hesitantly. "No doubt you have many questions, Dragon Warrior, and they will be answered. But first," he turned to include the Five "I understand that you have taken a long journey to get here. You must rest."

"They can stay with me." A voice called out.

The crowd parted to reveal a Red Panda, her small frame clothed in robes of dark blue.

"Yue-Yan." Xi-Wong said fondly, "Of course."

"The students of Master Shifu will always be welcome at my Tea House." Yue-Yan greeted warmly. "Please follow me. "

"Yue-Yan also runs our infirmary." Xi-Wong added, escorting his son and his friends behind the small red panda. "So if any of you have any injuries at all, you are in good hands, with her."

"Oh, good, 'cause my muscles are so sore, and I think I pulled something…" Po began before being nudged by Tigress again.

"Yue-Yan will be able to help you make a full recovery." Li said confidently, his eyes still on Tigress.

"Dragon Warrior." Xi-Wong added hopefully before Po could move off. "Once you've recovered, may I speak with you?"

"Yeah." Po answered surely. "Of course."

Xi-Wong smiled in relief before bowing. "Thank you, Dragon Warrior. I'll let you rest. Come find me at the shrine, when you are ready to speak with me."He pointed to a small hilltop that looked over the rice fields the pandas farmed.

"Tigress!" The young cubs called out eagerly as the group followed Yue-Yan, but were silenced by their father.

"Not yet, kids." He told them gently, his own eyes watching tigress as she moved away. "She just got here. Let her rest from her journey first."

As the six masters followed the red panda, Yue-Yan, the crowed parted to let them through.

"Dragon Warrior." They murmured, bowing as they passed.

"It's a whole village of Po's." Monkey commented once they'd passed the crowd.

"I'm surprised there are so many." Crane added.

"You may find many surprises in this village, students of Shifu." Yue-Yan said as she led them to a tea house made of strong bamboo logs.

Entering, the group were assailed by the various smells of tea. Sweet, pungent, spicy, and soothing.

"Have a seat, please." Yue-Yan gestured to a table. "I'll make you a tea to help you relax after your journey."

Po wanted to ask their hostess more questions about the Panda Village, but knew that it would be Xi-Wong who would give him answers, when they next spoke.

So, Po asked the next question that piqued his curiosity.

"So, Yue-Yan," Po began as the red panda went about making tea. "Do you know Master Shifu?"

"Oh, yes." She answered calmly, gracefully laying out the cups before the six kung fu masters at her table. "We met when we were teenagers. How do you like your tea?"

"Really? Wow!" Po said eagerly. "Kind of hard to imagine Shifu that young…" His voice trailed off.

Yue-Yan laughed gently as she poured the tea, each master bowing in gratitude as she did so.

"Well, he was always a bit old before his time." Yue-Yan answered fondly.

"How did you meet?" Po asked eagerly.

"Actually," Yue-Yan smiled as she sat down with her own cup. "He saved my life."

"Really?" Now the others' were listening, even Tigress.

"Yes." Yue-Yan confirmed, and she began her story…

I grew up in a small village, where my parents ran an apothecary. One day, when I was about seventeen, I was gathering herbs outside our village when a gang of bandits attacked me. They had me backed against a hillside, and I had five blades threatening me. I feared that I was going to die, for I had no money to give them in exchange for my life.

I closed my eyes, awaiting the death blow.

Then, suddenly I heard cries of pain, and shouting, and when I opened my eyes, the bandits were running away, and in their place was a lone warrior.

"Are you alright?" He asked gently.

"Shifu!" Po cheered.

"Yes, it was Shifu." Yue-Yan confirmed. "He had been travelling himself, on an errand for Master Oogway, when he spotted the bandits harassing me, and came to help.

In gratitude, I offered him shelter for the night at our home, and he accepted.

We spent most of the night talking. He told me all about his life at the Jade Palace, and of Kung Fu, and I told him about my life in the village. I think he was impressed with my knowledge of healing herbs, but I was more fascinated by his life, learning Kung Fu and travelling to different cities.

I was quite sad to see him leave the following day, but he promised to return to visit, after he had completed his errand for Master Oogway."

"And did he?" Viper asked.

"Yes, he did". Yue-Yan answered. "Just in time for the Moon festival. We spent most of the night dancing and talking."

"Shifu used to dance?" Mantis queried skeptically.

"Yes. I remember him being a very good dancer." Yue-Yan confirmed.

"Wow." Viper mused. "This is a whole new side to Shifu."

"So… was that the only time you saw Master Shifu?" Tigress asked carefully.

"Oh, no." Yue-Yan replied. "He passed through my village many times over the following months, on various jobs for Master Oogway, and the Council. Although," she added "I haven't seen him once since I was eighteen."

"Why?" Tigress said, noticing the sad expression on the red panda's face. "What happened?"

The healer sighed. "When I was eighteen, it was arranged that I marry one of the men of the village. His name was Wen. He was a good man, and from a prosperous family, but I didn't love him."

"So, what happened?" Po asked.

"When I told Shifu, the next time he passed through the village, he didn't say anything for the longest time." Yue-Yan continued to talk, lost in the memory. "Then, he asked me if I loved Wen, and I said no.

"Then you shouldn't have to go through with it." He said.

"But I have to." I told him. "My family is poor, and they said that this marriage will help us survive as a family, and that if I refused, I would dishonor them."

Shifu's face changed. It was like he wore a mask, I couldn't read his expression. He said that it was a good match for me, that I'd be well provided for. He left straight after that."

"A week before my wedding, I was walking with my groom-to-be, when I completely lost my senses, and told Wen that I couldn't marry him.

"You deserve someone who loves you." I told him. "And I can't give you that."

When my parents found out what I had said, they were horrified. "You have possibly ruined everything!" My father yelled at me as mother tried to calm him down. "You could have saved us from poverty and instead you ensure our demise by dishonoring our arrangement!"

"_Your _arrangement." I corrected. "I don't love Wen, and we both deserve to at least marry for love!"

"Who would marry you now, that you have disgraced us?" My father demanded.

I paused, breathing, gathering my courage.

"Shifu." I answered surely.

My father scoffed. "His love is Kung Fu. Masters do not marry."

"He would marry me." I told my father, who considered this.

"Very well." My father said. "You may travel to the Jade Palace to Shifu and return within seven days. If Shifu chooses you, then you may marry him. If not, your marriage will go on as planned, so you can salvage our honor. However," he added with a warning "if you do not return by the time the week is up and you miss your wedding day, consider yourself disowned from this family. It is the only way we will be able to survive the disgrace of a disobedient daughter."

"Wow, strict family." Po commented.

"So, I travelled to the Jade Palace." Yue-Yan continued. "It was the furthest from home I had ever been, but Shifu had told me the route to get there so many times, that I found my way there in two days.

When I arrived at the Palace and asked to see Shifu, I was told to wait. So I waited… And waited…until Master Oogway finally appeared on my third day of waiting.

"What brings you here, child?" The old tortoise asked gently.

"I'm here to see Shifu." I answered as surely as I could.

"I'm afraid he has begun his five-day meditation." Oogway explained. "Everyone who pledges themselves to Kung Fu must accomplish a challenge, and Shifu has chosen isolation and intense meditation."

"What?" I panicked. "Five days?" My mind was racing, I had only two days left till my father's deadline.

"Please Master Oogway." I implored the old tortoise. "I must see him. It's urgent."

Knowing time was of the essence, I told Oogway everything.

"Shifu tried to convince me to say no to the marriage. "I finished. "But he left thinking I was going to go through with it. Please Master Oogway, can I at least be sure of what path he wishes to follow, before it's too late to change mine?"

Oogway considered this with a smile. "Very well." He answered. "Although you may not enter the Palace, I will take a letter to him for you."

"Oh, thank you Master Oogway!" I bowed respectfully, before gathering parchment, ink and pen from my travel bag.

I wrote everything down. How I felt, my father's ultimatum and a plea for his answer.

As I watched Master Oogway carry my letter into the Jade Palace I sat down to wait again. This time, eagerly awaiting Shifu, who I hoped would appear soon."

The tea had gone cold, and the furious five as well as the dragon warrior were fixating on the red panda, who continued to gaze mournfully into her empty tea cup.

"He never came out." Tigress whispered. It was obvious. After all, Shifu was still single and living at the Jade Palace.

Yue-Yan shook her head. "He never even replied to my letter. But, his absence spoke volumes."

"Did you go back home?" Viper asked.

Yue-Yan shook her head again. "I couldn't. Father had been specific that I would be disowned if I missed my wedding day. By the time I returned, it would have been the day after. And I would have been in disgrace. Not only for refusing the man I was arranged to marry and dishonoring my family, but for being refused by the man I had wanted to marry."

"So, what did you do?" Po asked.

"I wrote Shifu another letter, saying goodbye and wishing him happiness in his chosen path. Then I left."

"But, you didn't go home." Tigress repeated.

"No. I travelled to Gong Man City, where I expanded on my herbalist knowledge, as well as learning acupuncture and tai chi, for women weren't allowed to learn kung fu in those days. "

"After some time, I began to travel again, seeing different places, like I had always dreamed of doing, listening to Shifu's stories. Eventually I found this Village, and as they needed a healer, I stayed. Opened a new apothecary. After Shen's attack, I fled with the survivors of the village, and when we settled here, I began again, this time opening this Tea House, and teaching Tai chi to the villagers. Now everyone here can defend themselves, and has a knowledge of pressure points."

"Like a Tai Chi version of Shifu." Po commented, impressed.

Yue-Yan simply smiled and began collecting the empty tea cups from the table.

"I'm sorry," she apologised to them. "I don't know why I told you all that story."

"You know…" Po began hesitantly "Shifu's still single…"

"Po!" The Five said together.

"What?" The Dragon Warrior said defensively. "I'm just sayin'"

"Well don't." Tigress growled, glaring at her friend. Shifu had clearly made his decision years ago, when he didn't reply to Yue-Yan's letter. And while Tigress thought the story was sad, it wasn't nice of Po to try and give Yue-Yan false hope. There was nothing in that but pain.

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: What do you think? I hope you can understand why Xi-Wong was a bit stand-offish. It would be quite awkward meeting the son you never got to see grow up, and I think he just wantedd to show Po that, while he does want to speak with him, he doesn't want to push for anything. They both need time to absorb the fact that they are in each other's lives now.

I did say that this was going to be Tigress' story too, and yes, I do have a plan for Li! Some of you have already guessed who he is, I'm sure, and I'd love to hear your theories!

And what do you think of Yue-Yan? I think she told her story, because the Five are the closest she's got to Shifu in a long time, and while she accepts the fact that Shifu made his decision, she still cares for him.

Please review and tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 3: Statues stories and survivors

Author's note: Hi everybody! Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it.

~..~..~..~..

Deep in the snowy Northern Mountains, a group of crocodiles were busy digging into the icy ground.

"We've been digging for hours! Are you sure this is the right place?" The smallest one asked his boss skeptically from the bottom of the pit.

"It says so right here!" The leader waved the parchment in his companion's face. "The treasure should be buried here!"

"I still think you're stupid for believing that crazy old goat," the biggest one muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" The lead croc demanded, stamping a foot.

"Nothing sir."

After a few more minutes of digging, the smallest croc had had enough.

"I give up!" He screamed in frustration. "There's nothing here!"

Angrily, he stabbed the ground beneath his feet with the pick axe he'd been using to chip away at the rock, burying it in the icy ground.

Suddenly, an ominous tremor shook the mountain.

"Uh, what was that?" The croc boss asked.

As a second tremor shook the mountain, cracks began to appear below the crocs' feet, emanating from the point where the pick axe was buried.

Stumbling, the crocs attempted to climb up the sides of the pit they'd dug, trying to escape, but the sides were too steep, forcing them to simply cling to the rock in terror.

Eventually, the tremors calmed down, and, carefully, the smallest one edged to where he planted his pickaxe.

"See guys?" He called over his shoulder. "It's okay. It's over."

As he pulled out his axe, however, a sickening _crunch_ was heard beneath them.

"You're fired." The croc boss stated before the very ground disappeared beneath them and they fell into an empty cavern.

"AAAAaaaaaahhhh!"

The three crocs, along with a ton of rock and ice fell through the darkness to land on a smooth, hard floor.

Nursing his head, the croc boss sat up slowly, frowning at the bruises and cuts covering his claws and arms.

"Who's not dead?" he called out. "Sound off."

Two moans of pain could be heard echoing through the chamber.

Looking around, the crocodiles found themselves in what appeared to be some kind of underground building. The hole they had made let cool light in to the space for what appeared to be the first time in centuries. Snow fluttered down to land on the smooth floor.

"What did I tell you guys?" The croc boss crowed. "I told you there'd be something here!"

The smallest croc winced as he rolled onto his side. As he got to his feet, he noticed something strange about the floor.

"Hey," he gestured to his companions. "Look at this, guys. It's not stone."

"What do you mean, it's not stone?" The croc boss asked in frustration. He wanted to find this hidden treasure the goat merchant told him about.

"I mean, look at this place," the smallest croc gestured around them. It's made of metal."

It was true, in some areas, the walls, floor and ceiling were made of metal, keeping the rock at bay, however in some areas, it had begun to rust, becoming brittle, which was probably how the ceiling collapsed in the first place.

"Why would someone build a metal room underground?" The biggest croc wondered.

"Who cares?" The croc boss exclaimed, moving forward, and searching the room in the dim light. "I want to find my treasure!"

Moving forward, the crocs found an alcove containing a great terracotta statue of a large dragon.

"What's this?" The croc boss asked.

"I think it's a dragon, boss." The biggest croc supplied, and was promptly wacked with the boss's tail.

"I can see that!" The croc boss snapped. "But where's my treasure!"

"Maybe this _is_ it?" The smallest croc suggested. "Do you know how much a museum would pay for something like this?"

"Riiiight." The croc boss moved forward to examine the statue, to find it locked onto a pedestal which was chained to the floor.

"How are we gonna move this thing out of here?" The croc boss wondered, aloud.

The big croc reached forward to touch the statue, his still bleeding claws gently brushed the clay, smearing a few drops of blood on the terracotta.

The blood appeared to shine in the dim light, before being absorbed into the statue.

"What the…" was all the croc boss had time to say before he and his companions were blasted backward into the rubble within the cavern as the statue exploded with a blast of energy.

Shaking his head, the smallest croc got to his feet and cautiously approached the statue, where only the mummified remains of some kind of reptile lay in amongst the broken pottery.

"Well that's gross," he commented. "What do you think that was, boss?"

Turning, his mouth dropped open in shock.

His boss was backed up in fear, staring wide-eyed at the biggest croc, who was hovering in the air, surrounded by a swirling light that was slowly entering his large, scaly body.

Slowly, the light faded and the big croc landed gently on his feet on the ground.

"Hey," the croc boss ventured carefully. "You okay?"

The big croc's eyes opened, and they were shocked to see that his eyes had turned completely black.

Taking a deep breath, the big croc rolled his shoulders, stretching his large muscles.

"Oh, I am more than okay," he whispered, and his voice had changed, becoming deeper, softer and far more chilling.

"In fact," the big croc continued with a smile. "I'm feeling better than I have for the past three hundred years."

"Th-three hundred years?" The croc boss began to back away, realizing that something had gone _very_ wrong.

The big croc drew himself up to his full height. "I am the Dragon, Long," he proclaimed. "And for centuries, I have been trapped in this prison because of Oogway. And while I could send my mind beyond my prison to observe the world as it changed, my spirit remained trapped in that cursed statue, and I was unable to gain the energy I needed to escape. But living blood…" Long whispered, flexing the claws of his new body. "You have no idea just how much life force there is in a few drops of blood. Just what I needed to free my spirit." He bowed slightly. "I suppose I should thank you."

"Y-you're welcome." The croc boss stammered.

"Now," Long breathed, relishing the sensation. He hadn't breathed air in a very long time. "Let's see…" Reaching out a crocodile claw, the fallen rock in the cavern began to tremble, and then move along the floor, surrounding the two remaining crocodiles.

"What's happening?" The small crocodile began to panic.

"How is he doing that?" The croc boss asked fearfully.

"Oh, this is a skill I learned many years ago," Long informed them as the rocks pushed the two crocs into the alcove.

"I'm glad to see that time has not weakened my power. And while I am thankful for my release," he continued as the rocks began to build a wall, trapping the two crocodiles inside the alcove, "I can't very well allow the two of you to escape and let my release be known. I want my presence to be known exactly when I want it to… when it's _too late_."

With a final flick of his wrist the alcove was completely sealed. Only weak, dull thumps could be heard as the two crocs tried to escape the very prison Long had been forced to reside in for so many years.

Smiling, Long turned calmly and used his power to manipulate the metal in the room, constructing a staircase to allow him to exit the cavern.

As he stood on the snow covered rock of the mountain, Long closed his eyes taking a moment to feel the icy breeze and allow the cool light of the sun to alight on his face. It had been centuries since he had actually _felt _anything. For while he had been able to project his _mind_ from his prison, his body had decayed, and his sprit had been trapped within that statue.

But now, with his new body, Long was free.

He opened his eyes and smiled.

'Now to rebuild my army,' he thought, 'and to reclaim what was stolen from me."

~..~..~..~..

Po raced up the hill towards the Shrine that Xi-Wong had pointed him to earlier.

Panting heavily, he finally reached the top.

"Dragon Warrior!" Xi-Wong stepped forward eagerly with relief. "You came!"

"Of course I did," Po grinned as he caught his breath. "But I have to ask: couldn't we have met somewhere…lower to the ground?"

Chuckling, Xi-Wong gestured his long-lost son forward.

"I felt we would want privacy, and this is one of the most isolated spots in the village."Xi-Wong explained, and Po was interested to find a second panda standing hesitantly behind the Mystic. She was about the same age as he was, though of a slightly smaller build.

"Ah, yes," Xi-Wong smiled, seeing who had caught the attention of his guest. "Son, I'd like you to meet your cousin, my brother's daughter: Jia."

"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Cousin," Jia bowed.

"It's great to meet you too, Jia. My name's Po."

"Po," Xi-Wong repeated slowly before nodding. "It's a good name."

"What…what did _you_ call me? As a baby?"" Po asked hesitantly as he took a seat at a table that Xi-Wong had set up near the shrine entrance, where tea had been set.

"Actually, your mother and I hadn't named you yet," Xi-Wong answered. "It's tradition, for us, to never give your child a name until they are ten months old." The panda mystic sighed sadly. "You were nine and a half months, when Shen attacked."

Po lowered his eyes.

"My mother saved my life," he whispered.

"Yes," Xi-Wong granted softly. "Her name was Lixue."

"Lixue," Po whispered, wanting to commit his mother's name to memory.

"It means 'Pretty Snow'," Xi-Wong smiled.

Po took a deep breath.

"Wow," he stated, looking at his father and cousin. His _panda_ father and cousin. "I have so many questions for you, I don't know where to begin."

"I feel the same way…Po." Xi-Wong simply stared contently at his son, glad that he was finally here.

"I have an idea," Jia put forward. "How about each of us take turns asking a question, like a game?"

"Alright," Xi-Wong thought for a moment. "How did you grow up, Po? Tell me about your family."

Po smiled. "Well," he began, "I was adopted by a goose by the name of Mr. Ping. He runs a noodle shop in the Valley of Peace, where I grew up. While I was trying to defeat Shen, a Soothsayer helped me find out how I became adopted." He took a breath. "My mom hid me in a radish basket and distracted Shen and his wolves. The radishes were then delivered to my dad's restaurant, and he decided to take me in."

"Mr. Ping," Xi-Wong repeated, placing a hand over his heart. "I owe a great deal of gratitude to him."

"Your turn Po," Jia prompted gently. "What do you want to know?"

"Uh," Po sorted through the myriad of questions swirling through his brain until he found the most pressing one he had at the moment.

"When Master Bunny told you about me, how did you know I was your son?" He asked Xi-Wong. "Why did you send a letter instead of coming to the Jade Palace yourself?"

His father lowered his eyes as he took a careful sip of his cooled tea.

"I knew you were my son," he began slowly, "because after Shen's attack, every panda was accounted for, whether alive or dead, except for you. We buried them all, and built a memorial for them here in our village. We can take you there, if you like?"

Po swallowed, nodding.

"And the reason I didn't come to the Jade Palace to meet you myself was because…I was afraid." Xi-Wong finished. "We have been in hiding for so long, the fear of Shen still hovers over our village, even though the threat is now passed. And also…I was afraid that you wouldn't want to meet me."

Po's eyes widened. "Why wouldn't I want to meet you?"

"Because I was afraid that…you would think badly of us, Lixue and I." X-Wong replied slowly, his eyes on his tea. "I was afraid that you would accuse me of abandoning you, that you thought we'd never loved you. And I couldn't bear the thought of hearing those words." Xi-Wong raised his eyes to gaze at his lost son.

"We loved you so much, son," Xi-Wong told him sincerely. "And you have grown up so well," cautiously Xi-Wong placed a paw on Po's shoulder. "You have done so much good in your life, and you even brought Shen to justice. For what it's worth, I'm proud of you."

Po could feel tears welling behind his eyes.

"Thanks…dad."

~..~..~..~..

Once Yue-Yan had shown the six warriors to their rooms, they were free to explore the village. And while Po ran off to talk with his birth father, Yue-Yan offered the assistance of her apprentice, Nuan, to give the Furious Five a tour of their village.

Nuan was yet another panda, who appeared shy at first, but came to show a quiet confidence as she took the five around the village. The pandas in the village would see them and wave, calling out greetings to Nuan, and offers of food and wares to their guests.

"Oh, these pandas are so friendly!" Viper smiled as some young pandas left after giving her a hug for saving their kite from a tree.

"Why do they keep staring at us though?" Mantis wondered aloud.

"Our village is quite isolated, you understand," Nuan told the group. "We don't get visitors often. So when we do, it's pretty big news. We're actually going to have a welcoming party tonight, see?" She pointed to a clearing up ahead, where more pandas were busy piling wood up high, ready for a bonfire, and setting out tables.

"A party?" Tigress repeated.

"Oh, yes," their guide nodded enthusiastically. There'll be lots of food, music, dancing, and a tai-chi demonstration!"

"Would you like us to do a demonstration too?" Tigress asked.

"Oh, you're the guests, you're not expected to." Nuan assured them. "But you will be expected to join in the dancing."

"Sounds like fun!" Viper cheered.

"I'd rather do a demonstration," Tigress muttered.

Nuan glanced at Tigress.

"If you don't know how to dance," she put forward gently, "you can ask Yue-Yan."

"It's not that-" Tigress tried to back track.

"Or Lian, Li's third-born," Nuan continued. "She's won the dance completion three times. Yue-Yan taught her."

"I've never danced," Tigress folded her arms stubbornly, and she wasn't about to start now.

"Oh, come on, Tigress," Monkey nudged his friend. "You're so hard-core all the time. loosen up."

"Maybe Li can convince you to dance," Viper added.

Tigress frowned. She didn't like the way Viper had said that.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he was kind of staring at you," Crane commented lightly.

Tigress could feel her shoulders tensing up.

"Nuan, what can you tell us about Li?" Viper asked their guide as they walked.

"Well," Nuan began thoughtfully. "He's been the guardian of our village for as long as I can remember. His parents guarded us before him, but they were killed during Shen's attack. When we found our new home Li left, returning years later with his wife. They raised their cubs here, practicing Kung Fu and Tai chi while Li worked as the town blacksmith. His wife, Mei, died last winter, along with many others in our village. It was the harshest winter we'd seen, and Mei had been sick throughout the autumn. Winter was too much for her." The panda sighed. "She was strong. Apparently all first born tigers are the strongest, but even the strongest warriors aren't invincible."

As Nuan was taking the five through the market place, Tigress heard a voice calling her name.

Turning, she spotted Da-Xia weaving her way through the groups of plushy pandas to stand before the five masters.

"Master Tigress," Da-Xia bowed formally. "My father and I would like to invite you and the five to come train with my family this afternoon."

Tigress bowed. "We would be honoured, Da-Xia," she told the young tiger. "Thank you." Training, after all, was something she was happy to spend the day doing.

"Actually," Viper excused herself, "I think I'll go practice dancing for the party tonight."

"Oh, yeah," Monkey added at Viper's glance. "Mantis and I were thinking of helping set things up."

"And, uh," Crane stammered, "Nuan said that she'd show me how to make this special tea to help clear congestion."

"But you go ahead and have fun, Tigress," Viper told her friend, and soon, the five and Nuan had scattered.

'What was that all about?' Tigress wondered in confusion.

"I apologise for my companions, Da-Xia," Tigress told the young tigress.

"It's all right," Da-Xia smiled. "You're our guests here, you're free to do what you like." Turning, she gestured excitedly for Tigress to follow her. "This way!"

Tigress followed Da-Xia through the market stalls until they reached a building made of stone. The sound of metal pounding on metal could be heard from inside.

"In here."

Tigress followed Da-Xia through the doorway, where the temperature rose sharply and Tigress felt her breath catch with the sudden heat. The walls of the room were made of stone, and were lined with everything from pitchforks and simple nails to swords and sythes. Li was standing at a large forge, shaping a glowing piece of metal with steady, precise blows from a large hammer. With practiced ease, he transferred the glowing red metal into a barrel of cool water. The metal hissed and steam filled the air.

As the steam dissipated, Li brought out the metal to reveal a sword blade. Studying the shape of the metal carefully, the tiger nodded in satisfaction.

"Nearly there," he said to himself.

"Hello father," Da-Xia greeted as she stepped forward.

"Da-Xia," Li smiled before catching sight of Tigress. "Master Tigress," he held up the blade he had been shaping. "You must have seen many weapons in your time," he commented, "what's your opinion on my latest project?"

Tigress stepped closer to examine the blade. Though yet to be finished, the blade was smooth and strong. Li balanced the blade carefully on one finger, unconcerned about the still warm metal. Seeing Li close up, Tigress realized that he was only about ten years older than her, yet he was much taller, and clearly stronger, physically, due to his work.

Turning her eyes back to the sword and observing the steady balance of the blade, even when not yet completed, Tigress nodded.

"It will be a fine weapon," she granted.

"Thank you," Li said, proud of his craft. "This will be a gift, so I want it to be perfect."

"Who for?" Da-Xia asked quickly.

"Not telling," Li smiled, placing the nearly finished blade to one side, before washing the soot and ash off his hands.

"Master Tigress agreed to train with us, Father," Da-Xia reported happily, trying to keep a straight face, but not quite succeeding in holding back an excited smile.

"I'm glad to hear it," Li commented. "Though, as it's Tai Chi, I'm sure it will be different to what you are used to, Master Tigress."

"Different is good," Tigress granted evenly. "It gives you the chance to adapt your skills and adopt new ones."

Li nodded, smiling slightly before turning to his daughter.

"Where are the others?"

"In the training area," Da-Xia answered quickly. "We're just waiting for you."

"Well then, I'd better not keep them waiting." Li closed and locked the furnace with one hand before leading the way outside and through the streets.

Soon the three tigers arrived at a clearing where one young tiger cub was teaching another a new move in their tai-chi form. A third cub was jumping along large tree stumps that were planted in the ground nearby, and a fourth one was sparring an imaginary opponent, using a spiked fan as their weapon.

"That's my eldest son, Wei, teaching Cheng, my youngest," Li pointed to the two practicing form. "Over there is Lian, practicing with the fan- her favourite weapon. And Maylin, my youngest daughter, is the one practicing her precision jumps on the stumps over there."

Da-Xia cupped her mouth.

"Line up!"

In moments, the four cubs had lined up in front of their father and the visiting Master.

"That's my job, Da-Xia," Li glanced aside at his daughter, who grinned guiltily.

"Sorry, dad," she apologised quickly before getting in line herself.

"Wow, is Master Tigress training with us today?" Cheng asked excitedly from the end.

"Yes," Li answered to excited gasps from his children. "Master Tigress is honouring us with her presence here for training this afternoon."

"Yes!" The kids cheered, Lian even clapped with excitement. Li cleared his throat, and immediately, all five young tigers stood at attention.

"All right," Li bowed, and the rest of the group followed. "Let's get started."

The class was certainly different than what Tigress was used to. It was a Tai-Chi class, so it was slower, focusing on control, discipline and perfect technique. Whereas her Kung Fu training usually gave Tigress leave to unleash her power, Tai-Chi was about using no force of your own. Instead you are to use your opponent's force against them.

And while Tigress could do the tai-chi forms, when it came her turn to spar Li, Tigress began to realize just how much she relied on her power in a battle when she attacked Li, only to find herself flying through the air. She hadn't even felt him touch her. Recovering quickly, she attacked again, this time trying harder to control her momentum. She ended up flat on her back.

After the third time it happened, Tigress began to get frustrated.

"What am I doing wrong?" She asked Li, her Master for the moment.

"You are very powerful, Tigress," Li granted, "as tigers naturally are. But you need to think of your power, your energy, like fire. When it's out of control, it can be deadly to anything close to it, indiscriminately. When it's controlled, it's more beneficial, but it still can't do very much on its own." The large tiger came forward. "It's only when you combine it with its opposite element, water, that it can truly create amazing things, both varied and useful."

"Like your forge," Tigress stated.

"Exactly," Li nodded. "I believe that true peace, true _balance_, lies somewhere between rage and serenity. You cannot make a sword blade with only fire or only water. You need both fire _and_ water to create the perfect sword blade. As such, you both need power _and_ gentleness to truly master your opponent in a battle."

"Power and gentleness," Tigress repeated slowly, a little unsure, but committed.

"What is it?" Li asked, seeing the expression on the Kung Fu Master's face.

"People don't exactly expect gentleness from _me_," Tigress admitted.

"Yeah, we've heard," Cheng piped up, before being nudged into silence by Maylin.

Li smiled in understanding.

"What people expect from you, and who you actually are can often be two different things," he told her.

"Yeah, like Cheng," Maylin supplied. "He's expected to do what he's told, but he never does."

"Hey!" Cheng objected, pushing his sister.

"I suppose you could argue that we now expect him to be disobedient," Wei commented drily.

"Hey!" Cheng objected again.

"All right, that's enough," Li told his children firmly. "Lian, I want you and Cheng to work on your forms, Maylin and Wei, you two are going to be sparring, Da-Xia, you'll be with me and Tigress."

"Why does Da-Xia get to go with Tigress!" Cheng objected.

"Because dad said so," Da-Xia said firmly, pointing across the clearing. "Now go with Lian and practice."

Lian ran off obediently, while Cheng followed, muttering the whole time.

Li stood before Da-Xia and Tigress.

"Let's try Kung Fu for a while," he suggested. "You both are going to practice your forms, but I want you to do them slowly, as if you were doing Tai-Chi. And while you're doing your form," Li continued, looking pointedly at Tigress, "I want you to keep your mind as calm and blank as possible. Your body already knows the movements, so you shouldn't need to think about it."

Nodding in understanding, both Tigress and Da-Xia got in line to begin.

'Calm my mind,' Tigress focused herself, taking a deep breath before beginning.

As she went through the familiar movements of her Kung Fu form, Tigress actually found herself struggling to keep her mind calm, while her body kept wanting to put power into her technique, rather than to make slow and relaxed movements.

"Relax your muscles, Tigress," Li told her in a calm voice. "Focus on breathing."

Inhaling deeply, Tigress consciously made her muscles relax, and as she moved, she eventually found herself settling into an almost meditative state.

As she relaxed further, a memory surfaced, of Shifu teaching her a similar form game at the Bao Gu Orphanage. The first time, she had punched a hole in the wall, but as she practiced, she became more controlled.

Finishing the last move of the form, Tigress bowed, feeling much calmer than she had earlier.

"I can see that you touched water, during that exercise," Li smiled.

Tigress nodded.

"I think I did," she answered, and was surprised to realize she was shaking slightly. Clenching her fists, Tigress rolled her shoulders, regaining control.

"And now, you've shaken the water off," Li observed quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you feel calm?" Li asked mildly.

Tigress considered. "I feel…normal," she answered.

"In other words: not calm," Li commented before turning to his daughter. "And you, Da-Xia?"

"I feel…jittery," the young tigress answered thoughtfully, rolling her shoulders. "Like my muscles are relaxed, but energized, it's a strange feeling."

Li nodded in understanding.

"When you truly relax your mind and body, often memories and emotions you didn't know you had can come to the surface," he explained. "When you try to control these emotions and memories by suppressing or rejecting them, that's when you become tense from the internal conflict. It's only by addressing and accepting _all_ that you are, that you can find peace within yourself, and your chi can flow freely."

Suddenly, the sound of a loud gong reverberated throughout the valley.

"Someone's coming," Li informed the group, and immediately, Wei and Da-Xia gathered the younger cubs together, ready for instructions.

"Li!"

A panda came running up, his hat askew.

"There's a whole village's worth of people coming this way," he reported. "They look like refugees."

Immediately, Li changed from teacher to protector.

"Tell Yue-Yan and Nuan to get the infirmary up and running," he told the scout. "Tell everyone to prepare their homes for visitors. If it's a whole village of refugees, we'll be pushed for space. Where are the refugees coming from?"

The panda pointed.

Li nodded.

"Go get Xi-Wong and inform him," Li instructed. The panda nodded and ran off towards the shrine.

"Kids," he called to his children. "There are people coming who need our help, but we don't know if they're friendly. I'm going to have a look first. Wei, get the younger ones in the house, Da-Xia, come with me."

He turned to Tigress.

"I know you and the Five are our guests, Tigress, but-"

"We'll help you," Tigress promised.

Li smiled in gratitude, and the three tigers ran off to check the arrivals.

~..~..~..~..

The refugees arrived at the village with little more than the clothes on their backs, as they'd had to evacuate their homes quickly. The Five had tried to ask them what had happened, but they were all still too much shock to say anything. So, Xi-Wong, Li and Yue-Yan decided that the most important thing was to give their visitors a roof and a bed, and all the pandas in the village responded admirably. All the sick and injured, along with their family were put up into Yue-Yan's tea house, while every other family was welcomed into a panda's home.

The Five were made to move out of the Tea House to make room for the infirm, and were now boarding with Li's family, while Po was living with Xi-Wong and Jia.

Yue-Yan hurried between the tea house at the front of her home to the infirmary that took up the back, showing people to various rooms, tending to injuries, serving teas to calm and soothe and helping to make her guests and patients feel as comfortable as possible. Nuan rushed along behind her, carrying bandages and salves, distributing them to those in need. Between them, they carried trays of almond cookies and small toys, which they handed out to the children. Yue-Yan was a big believer in joy being a cure, and something as simple as eating a favourite treat, or playing with a toy can do wonders for the spirit, especially for a child.

However, as Yue-Yan rushed from patient to patient, it wasn't until her whole home was full that she was able to stop long enough to take a breath.

"Yue-Yan?"

Turning towards the voice, Yue-Yan actually dropped the basket she was carrying in shock.

"Wen?"

Balls of bandages went rolling in all directions, and Yue-Yan hastened to place them all back safely in the basket.

Looking up, she saw her former fiancé holding out the last bandage towards her.

"Thank you," she said, taking it from him, careful not to touch his hand.

"It's…good to see you Yue-Yan," Wen greeted, straightening the small spectacles he wore.

"And you," Yue-Yan breathed, trying not to faint. _Her past had come back to haunt her. _Looking around, Yue-Yan finally realized that she actually recognized several people.

"Wen…" she breathed. "Is this our village?"

"Yes," he answered sadly, gazing around the room. "What's left of it, at any rate."

"Are…" Yue-Yan gathered her courage. "Are my parents here?"

Wen shook his head slowly. "No. I'm sorry, Yue-Yan, but they died last winter."

Yue-Yan hung her head. Her parents may have disowned her, but they were still her parents. And now, she will never get the chance to even say goodbye.

She swallowed.

"And, um…" she stammered slightly, "What about you? What brings you to the infirmary?"

"My son," Wen gestured behind him to where a teenage red panda was lying, his leg heavily bandaged.

"Your son?" Yue-Yan repeated, a memory flicking through her mind. "Did I treat him earlier?"

"Yes," Wen smiled slightly. "I was standing right beside the bed. You were so focused on your work, you didn't even notice me."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Yue-Yan apologized, but Wen shook his head.

"You had a lot to do, and I was just glad that my son was getting treated for his leg." Wen assured his hostess. "We splinted it as best as we could, but it was a nasty break."

"Well, I can assure you, your son is in good care," Yue-Yan assured the worried father.

"Oh, I know that," Wen bowed. "Thank you Yue-Yan."

Yue-Yan glanced over to where the boy lay sleeping.

"So, you did end up getting married?" She asked Wen.

Her former fiancé smiled. "Yes, I did. She died three years ago, unfortunately. I loved her very much."

"I'm sorry to hear that she died," Yue-Yan told him sincerely, "but I'm glad you finally found love.

"Thank you, Yue-Yan," Wen said softly. "And what about you? Did you find Shifu?"

"Shifu?" Yue-Yan clutched the basket of bandages closer to her. "Uh, no…he's still at the Jade Palace."

Wen kept his face calm, but Yue-yan could see something like pity flicker in his eyes.

"I've travelled," she added quickly. "I learned far more about healing than I ever could have done if I had stayed at the village."

"Lucky for us, it would seem," Wen bowed. "Thank you again for taking us in, Yue-Yan."

"Our pleasure," Yue-Yan answered, bowing back. "I'd better get back to work now. Is there anything you need?" Yue-Yan asked, falling back into the 'caring healer' role.

Wen shook his head, thanking her for her concern, and Yue-yan was finally able to hurry off.

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: What do you think?

Honestly, I'm not really happy with Long's release scene, as I don't think I made it clear enough. I was trying to go for something like 'The Mummy', where he was mistakenly released. As for Long himself: as Oogway was only young and trapped Long soon after developing Kung Fu, he had been trapped a loooong time in that statue, so while his body is dead, his power and anger was so strong that it sustained his trapped spirit within the statue, but the only thing he needed to escape was access to a living being- someone with the life force/chi to recharge his power, and a body to give him form. While his spirit was trapped within his prison, he could mentally project himself outside to view the world, but he had no power to influence it, as his spirit and his magic were still trapped. I made his 'statue' prison a terracotta statue, as I was trying to think of what, in ancient China, they could have used that was neither wood, earth, metal water or fire, and I thought 'pottery' was a halfway point: earth, changed by fire and water- as inspired by the famous Terracotta Army.

Does that make sense? If there are any holes, please tell me, and I can re write the scene.

Tigress doing Tai Chi was in no way trying to make Tigress look 'bad' or anything of the sort. I just wanted to reinforce what Shifu was saying at the begining of the story- about how important it is to learn a different perspective. Tigress is used to being strong and forceful in her Kung Fu- 'Hard core'. But tai Chi, while similar to Kung Fu, is very gentle, flowing and defensive- completely non-agressive. The reason I wanted this in the story, is because in KFP2, when Po and Tigress are talking on the boat, and Po calls Tigress 'so hard core you don't feel anything', Tigress appears quite affected by that comment. So, I think that the 'hard core' Tigress that we see isn't really who she is on the inside. And in this story, I want Tigress to try and find that 'balance' that Li told her about.

I'm a black belt in karate myself, and I have studied a bit of Tai chi, and I remember on my first day, being sent stumbling, almost into a wall, by my Tai Chi instructor when she demonstrated to me how Tai Chi redirects an opponent's force. Karate is very strong and powerful, and when I tried to use that energy on my instructor, she simply redirected it. it was a very enlightening moment for me. It's not that one style is better or worse than the other, it's just that each style has a different philosphy, and something new to teach you.

The 'Fire' and 'Water' metaphors are also something I use when describing the energies that I tap into when training. When I'm being stong and focused, such as practising my basics, I feel what I call 'fire energy' making me poweful, fast, and quick to recover. When I'm performing kata (the floor patterns we do that act out an imaginary battle- I don't know what they're called in tai Chi or Kung Fu, so I call them 'forms') my muscles and mind are relaxed, alowing smooth movement, and often you can finish a kata without remembering any of it- it's officially called 'mushin'- the mind of no minds, and it's what I call 'water energy'.

The Fire and Water metaphors are themes that I hope to carry through the story, and it's why I gave Li the job of a blacksmith, as I think it's a great physical example of how two opposing elements can create something incredible.

Hopefully that's cleared a few things up, but if you have any questions, please let me know.

Celino.


	5. Chapter 4: Revelations

Author's note: Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews! Here's the next chapter.

Now, it's a very emotional one for Tigress, and while it may seem out of character to many, I think we're beginning to see who Tigress really is, as she's beginning to figure it out herself.

We also find out who Li is in this chapter! This is really quite a pivotal point in the story, I think.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

~..~..~..~..

The pandas believed that their new visitors needed something to lift their spirits, and so the welcoming party was going ahead as planned. Po was amongst it all, cooking rice and dumplings alongside Jia, while the five helped to set out extra tables.

"Shouldn't we be trying to find out what happened to them?" Po asked his cousin with concern, "I mean, if their village was attacked, we need to bring whoever did it to justice."  
"True," Jia granted, carefully lifting dumplings from a pot of boiling water and adding them to a heaving plate before passing the plate to another panda to take out to the table. "But it may also have been something natural, like a fire, or a rockslide. We do get rockslides in the mountains, you know, Po. Besides," Jia added new dumplings to the water to cook and got a fresh plate. "These people have been through enough as it is. They have nothing. They're in shock. They're worried about their family's future. Our main concern is helping them to feel safe, give them what they need and to lift their spirits. Perhaps after the party, some will feel comfortable enough to tell us what happened to them."

"Okay," Po agreed slowly. 'I guess there's no point worrying when we don't know what to worry about,' he thought. 'Although,' he added 'not knowing can be pretty worrying too.'

The sun had begin to set, and in the party clearing, a bonfire had just been lit, the tables were spread with many dishes of food, and every panda in the village was escorting their guests to the welcome feast.

Once everyone was settled with a plate of food, Xi-Wong took to the centre of the clearing, calling for silence.

"Welcome everybody!" He announced, his warm voice reaching everyone in the clearing. "We've invited you all here this evening to welcome our most honoured guests to our village. To my son, the Dragon Warrior, his friends, the Furious Five, and our new guests: We hope that you consider our home as your home, for as long as you wish. One Village. One Family."

"One Village. One Family!" Everyone echoed in a toast.

"And now," Xi-Wong continued. "To begin tonight's festivities, out best Tai Chi practitioners and their students will perform a demonstration for you all. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy your night!"

Xi-Wong moved aside as applause rang throughout the clearing, which hushed quickly as Yue-Yan, Nuan, Li, and his five children all came forward.

"Tigers," the refugees whispered amongst themselves, and Tigress' ears twitched as she took her seat. Hadn't these people ever seen a tiger before?

Yue-Yan stood on one side of the clearing, while Li and his children encircled her. Nuan stood alone a distance away.

Po noticed Jia amongst a group other pandas holding instruments, Jia holding a mandolin. Slowly, the musicians began to play a slow, haunting tune, and Nuan began to practice a Tai Chi form. Yue-Yan and Li's group stood frozen.

After performing a few moves, Nuan froze in her position, and automatically, all the attention travelled to Yue-Yan and Li's group.

Li and his children crouched into battle positions, and began attacking Yue-Yan, who smoothly deflected them every single time, using the moves that Nuan had just demonstrated.

"Awesome," Po whispered. Nuan was demonstrating the form of Tai-Chi, whereas Yu-Yan was demonstrating how the form could be applied to a battle sequence.

The demonstration continued, with Nuan performing a few moves of the Tai Chi form, and Yue-Yan demonstrating the application against Li and his family, who reset themselves and stood frozen after each application, waiting for their next turn.

Not only was it an excellent demonstration of Tai Chi skill on Nuan and Yue-Yan's part, but it also showed the skill, control and grace of Li and his family, who rolled out of each deflection with practiced ease. Tigress was especially impressed with how much control Cheng showed, although the cub clearly couldn't resist adding overly theatrical falling and sound effects on occasion, it all added to the show, and the audience appreciated it.

When the demonstration was finished, all the performers bowed in unison to great applause.

Po nodded to his friends, who all stood up.

"Thank you, Yue-Yan, Li and your students for that demonstration of skill," Xi-Wong took to the centre of the clearing once more. "And now, The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five have offered to demonstrate their own Kung Fu skills for us. Welcome Masters Po, Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Crane and Mantis."

Applause rang out as Po and his friends took to the centre of the clearing. While they hadn't been expected to perform tonight, Po wanted to show his people what he could do as The Dragon Warrior, and all that he had achieved, thanks to the sacrifice of his mother.

"Alright everybody!" Po cheered. "Get ready for more awesomeness!"

At Po's signal, the Five attacked.

The six of them had agreed that, as this was Po's family village, he should be the star of their demonstration. So, much like how Li's family attacked Yue-Yan, the Five began sparring Po.

Punching, dodging, rolling, kicking and even doing the occasional 'double team' moves to show the team work of his friends, Po put everything he could into his performance.

Xi-Wong, Jia and the other pandas watched, awestruck as their village's prodigal son

sparred the five Masters. It was the first time any of them had seen Po and the Five fight.

Eventually, all six warriors landed evenly on the ground, panting with exertion. Bowing to each other, the demonstration ended to clapping and cheering.

"Awesome!" Cheng cheered from beside his father, who was also clapping proudly.

Po felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Xi-Wong and Jia standing behind him.

"That was…" Xi-Wong's voice trailed off.

"Awesome!" Jia exclaimed. "Absolutely amazing."

"Thank you for sharing that with us," Xi-Wong told the group, who bowed.

"Can we have another round of applause for the six Kung Fu Masters of the Jade Palace!"

The six Masters bowed graciously to the cheering crowd.

"Now please," Xi-Wong continued. "Eat, drink, and enjoy your night!"

Jia rushed over to where the musicians were and they began playing a more lively tune.

"So," Yue-yan asked the Five. "Do Kung Fu Warrior's dance?"

"Yes," Viper answered.

"No," Tigress said firmly.

"Well, everyone but Tigress," Mantis amended.

"Well in that case…" Nuan tugged Po towards the centre of the clearing. "Come on, Po, dance with me!"

"Alright," he waved to his friends as he moved off. "Later guys!"

"Master Viper," Xi-Wong bowed, "may I have the honour of a dance?"

"Of course, Xi-Wong," Viper bowed.

"Master Crane," Yue-Yan bowed. "Will you dance with me?"

"I would be honoured, Yue-Yan," Crane bowed.

"Master Monkey, dance with me!" Lian pulled Monkey into the dancers.

"Master Mantis, dance with me!" Maylin had to get in quickly.

Li walked carefully up beside Tigress, who was now standing alone.

Her muscles tensed.

"Come on," Li offered, "Let's get something to eat."

Tigress let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding and followed Li to a table with relief.

"Incredible," Li smiled as he offered the Kung Fu master a bowl of soup.

"What is?" Tigress asked warily as she sat down.

"That a Kung Fu Master can move with as much grace and skill as you can, yet you are afraid to dance to music." Li commented, popping a dumpling in his mouth.

"I'm not afraid," Tigress defended. "Dancing's just…"

"Not what's expected of the hard-core Tigress?" Li supplied.

Tigress stared straight ahead, not even seeing the festivities before her, or even hearing the music.

"Who do you think you are?" Tigress demanded. "You don't know me."

"You're fighting again," Li observed mildly.

"That's what I do," Tigress spat through gritted teeth. "I do what's expected of me, there's nothing wrong with that."

"You're expected to fight your enemies and keep the innocent safe," Li corrected gently. "You're not expected to fight your own emotions."

"You don't know anything about me," Tigress hissed. Why was she even talking to him?

"I know more than you think," Li told her softly, his voice more gentle and… _vulnerable_ than Tigress had ever heard him speak. He wasn't a teacher, or a protector, or a father now… Li was just himself.

_'You have to tell her, Li,'_ the large tiger told himself. '_This is what you've been waiting for…'_

While dancing, Po caught sight of Tigress sitting with Li, and looked around for his friends.

"Hey, Viper," he called out over the music, "what's with that guy talking to Tigress?"

"That's Li, remember?" Viper supplied. "We met him when we entered the village."

"You may not have noticed he was staring at Tigress, 'cause you were too busy staring at your dad," Monkey interjected, in the middle of an acrobatic dance-off with Lian.

"What?" Po stumbled to a stop. "He was staring at Tigress? Why?"

"She was also training with his family all afternoon, while you were talking with your dad," Crane added as he and Yue-Yan went passed.

"But why was he staring at Tigress?" Po demanded.

"Maybe he likes her," Viper commented thoughtfully

"What?" Po stumbled slightly. "That can't be right."

"Why?" Viper reprimanded.

"Come on," Po could feel his hands shake slightly. "This is hard-core Tigress with nerves of steel we're talking about here."

"That doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings, Po." Viper told him.

Po looked back over to where the two tigers were talking.

Did Li really like Tigress? He'd shown off how good he was during the demonstration…

Could it be true?

"Okay Tigress." Li said. "Get ready, I'm going to tell you a story."

Tigress frowned. "A story?" She repeated flatly.

"Well, it's either that, or talk to me." He grinned. "And I take it you're not one for chit chat."

Tigress' frown didn't shift. "I-"

"Here's the story." He began. "I grew up travelling everywhere with my parents. Tigers weren't exactly reputed to be like the fluffy bunnies in most towns, so it was often difficult for my parents to find work. No one wanted to hire you, if they were afraid you were going to eat their customers." Li grinned again, flashing his sharp teeth, but Tigress simply stared ahead of her, appearing to take no interest.

"It was tough" Li carried on, unconcerned. "We often didn't have a roof over our heads, as no innkeeper wanted to let us in, but we always took care of each other." He paused, remembering. "That's what my parents always said: Families take care of each other."

"When I was ten, I got the best news of my life." Li continued. "I was going to be a big brother. When my sister was born, I was so excited. Dad said I couldn't see her or mum until the following day, so I spent every coin I had, buying material, and spent all day making this doll to give her."

Tigress turned to see the small tiger-doll the male tiger now held in his large paws.

"I even thought of a name for my sister," Li added. "Lin."

Tigress frowned. "Lin?"

Li nodded. "It means 'fine jade'. He explained. "Jade was my mother's favourite stone." His eyes became downcast.

"When I saw my mother the next day, my new sister wasn't with her. They'd given her away. Taken her to the Bao Gu Orphanage."

Tigress' head snapped up, giving the male tiger her undivided attention. The Bao Gu Orphanage?

A smile pulled at the corner of Li's mouth as he regarded the female tiger next to him. "That got your attention, didn't it?" He asked softly.

Tigress found herself staring harder at this larger tiger beside her, studying him, searching.

"Would you like to hear the rest of the story?" He asked, holding out the doll.

Numbly, Tigress slowly took the doll in hand, and nodded.

"When mum and dad told me that they'd given my sister away, I was so angry." Li admitted. "I was yelling at them: What happened to 'families take care of each other'?"

They said that that was why they gave you up. It was hard enough to find food and a place to sleep for ourselves. What kind of life was that for a young cub? They said that, at least at the orphanage, you would be taken care of."

"But I was so angry." Li continued. "Knowing how often we were turned away out of fear, how would an orphanage filled with bunnies and ducklings, handle a tiger cub?"

Tigress felt the memories coming to the surface. Being locked up. Everyone running away. Being caught with a net every time she left her room. 'Monster!" They had called her. "She's a monster!"

"I snuck off to the orphanage that night." Li continued. "I was going to get my sister out. But when I got there, they turned me away, afraid of this young tiger at their door."

"My parents and I continued to travel, and eventually we were able to get work protecting a village from a gang of bandits that routinely stole from them. It was nice, to finally have a real bed to sleep in. After we lived there for several months, I asked my parents if we could go back and get you. And they said yes." He smiled for a moment.

Then his face turned dark.

"The next night, the whole village was attacked. Not by bandits this time, but by a whole army. All I can remember is everyone shouting and running. My parents fought the wolves, while I had to get as many of the villagers away as quickly as possible."

Li sighed, closing his eyes against the memory, speaking faintly, as if he were far away.

"I remember camping with the survivors, moving, constantly moving, trying to find the villagers a new home. And waiting, always waiting for news. Eventually, those who had stayed to fight caught up with us, having lost the wolves in the bamboo forests. They told us that the village had been completely razed to the ground, and every panda with me had lost at least one family member."

"Panda?" Tigress repeated, surprised. Li nodded, smiling. "My family were protecting this panda village."

"And the wolves that attacked." Tigress continued. "Were they led by a Peacock?"

"Yes. " He nodded. "Yes they were."

Li took a breath. "Mum and dad were among those killed." He continued slowly, and Tigress felt her throat tighten. "I felt cheated once again. Not only had we failed in our duty to protect the panda village, but my parents had been killed right when we were going to go back to get my sister."

Tigress was silent. It was yet another thing that she and Po had in common. For the night he had lost his mother, she had also lost hers.

"What did you do?" Tigress asked.

"I stayed with the Pandas until we found this place, where they could rebuild their home, before heading back to the Bau Gu Orphanage on my own. I was going to get you out myself, and we were going to live together in the Panda village, and be a family." He shook his head at the innocent belief.

"But I was still a cub." He continued. "And when I arrived at the Bao Gu Orphanage, I couldn't even get in to see you. They were afraid of Tigers, you see." Li grinned ruefully again, and this time, Tigress gave a small smile back.

"But I was determined," he carried on," and demanded that they bring my sister out to me. 'If you're afraid of tigers, let me take the young cub away', I told them. 'If you won't I'll keep coming back until you do'."

"Then they told me that, while they would love to get rid of the- _monster_- in their midst, I was too young to adopt you. They said that I could only adopt you once I became an adult. So, I was forced to leave yet again, but vowed to return once I became eighteen."

"I travelled again, learning anything from anyone who would teach me. Kung fu, Tai chi, carpentry, archery, swordplay, I trained as a blacksmith, building weapons and prison cells. Eventually, my eighteenth birthday came, and I rushed to the Bao Gu Orphanage, determined to finally meet my little sister. For I was an adult now, so there was nothing they could say or do to make me leave."

Li closed his eyes. "Except for one thing."

Tigress sighed, knowing what he was about to say.

"When I arrived, I was told that you were no longer there." His voice was strained as he spoke. "Master Shifu had adopted you and taken you to the Jade Palace." He smirked slightly. "Fitting, really, that the name I gave you meant 'Jade'."

Tigress studied this male tiger next to her. Her brother. She had a brother. And he'd been looking for her all her life. Tigress had thought his story was finished, but he had once more part to add.

"So I went to the Jade Palace." He continued.

Tigress' head snapped up again. "You what?" She gasped.

"I went to the Jade Palace." He repeated, his face becoming one of hard determination, an expression Tigress saw every time she looked in a mirror.

"I knew Master Shifu had adopted you, so I knew that, officially, he was your father now." He began. "But still, I needed to know that you were alright, I needed to know that you were being taken care of. I had learnt kung fu in my travels, and had won many battles. I was determined for Master Shifu to take me on as a student. That way I would still get to be with you."

"When I got there, I had to sit on the Palace steps for three days before anyone would see me, and I made my request to Master Shifu, telling him you were my sister, and that I wanted to be taken as a student to be with you. He said no. There was no trial, no test, no demonstration of my skill, just a flat 'no'."

"To be trained at the Jade Palace, one must be devoted to Kung Fu," Shifu had told me. "You cannot hope to be accepted as my student if _Kung Fu_ is not your reason for being here."

"I was furious." Li growled. "I had spent years waiting to get you out of the orphanage, only to have someone else adopt you. Then when I tried to at least be near you, Shifu wasn't even giving me a chance to prove myself. Thankfully, Master Oogway appeared at that moment, and said that I should at least be given the opportunity. So, Master Shifu told me that if I could get from one side of the training area to the other, without getting hurt, then he would take me as a student."

Li's claws extended reflexively.

"You failed." Tigress stated.

He shook his head. "Oh, it was different to my usual training, but I was determined. It was the best I had ever done up till that point. The flying clubs never touched me, I kept my balance on the Jade tortoise, I blocked every one of the wooden soldiers, and cleared the fire pit with one leap, avoiding any flames."

Growling, he slammed his fist into the ground in frustration.

"But just as I was about to land on the other side, Shifu kicked me."

"What?" Tigress asked.

"I didn't even see it coming. I fell to the ground, and Shifu just stood there. "You're determination and focus are good, but you must be constantly aware of your surroundings" he told me. I stood up as quickly as I could and bowed. "Then will you teach me to develop my awareness, Master Shifu?" I asked him "I made it through the training area."

"No you didn't." He said. "I was able to kick you before you made your final landing. Therefore, I will not take you as a student."

I was shocked, to say the least, followed by outrage. "You have to take me!"

"Why?" Master Shifu asked calmly.

"Because you have my sister." I told him again. "Ever since I found out she was in that Orphanage I've been waiting till I was old enough to get her out, to adopt her. Then I found that you were the one to get her out. Thank you for that. But while I may not be able to adopt her now, I want to at least take care of her as she grows up. "

Master Shifu stood before the young tiger, composed, his face an expressionless mask. "If you truly mean that-"

"I do." I interjected.

"-then you would have blocked my kick." Shifu finished, turning and walking away.

Roaring, the teenage tiger pounced.

Shifu swiftly turned and dealt another blow, which sent the young tiger flying out the palace doors. Leaping to his feet, the young tiger ran at the palace entrance, just as the doors slammed shut.

"I pounded at the door, roaring until I lost my voice." Li continued as his mind slowly came back to the present day. "After a while, I left, only to return later that evening. I had to make sure you were alright. I went around the edge of the palace grounds, until eventually, I saw you."

Tigress' eyes widened. "You did?"

He nodded. "You and Shifu were playing a game of checkers. You looked so happy, playing with him, and I realised…you actually didn't need me."

"What?" Tigress asked.

"You didn't need me." Li repeated. "Heck, I was a complete stranger to you. And what did I have to give you, anyway? Only the love of a brother, nothing else. I had no money, no real home…Mom and dad were right, that's no life for a cub."

He turned to meet the eyes of the sister he had always wanted to know. "But at the Jade Palace, you had a home, you had a father to take care of you, and when the furious five were formed, you had them as your siblings. You didn't need me there, tucking you in at night."

Tigress delved into her own memories growing up in the Jade Palace, and couldn't recall one time when Shifu 'tucked her in' at night.

"But I still wanted to keep an eye on you." He finished. "I attended every tournament you competed in growing up. Watched you become Master Shifu's prized student, and then 'Master Tigress' of the Furious Five." He smiled. "I was so proud of you on that day. I even sent you a present. Did you get it? The dagger?"

Tigress' eyes widened as she remembered receiving the wrapped package the day after she became a Master. Unwrapping the cloth to discover a black handled dagger, with a pouncing tiger adorning the hilt and scabbard. There had been no note.

"That was you?" She whispered. Tigress had assumed that Shifu had given it to her.

Her…brother…nodded. "I forged it myself." He smiled. "Didn't think you'd want a doll this time, so I thought a dagger was a more appropriate gift for a Master."

"Thank you." Tigress whispered.

"I eventually made my way back here, to the Panda village," he continued, "where, surprisingly, they welcomed me back as their protector. I met my wife, Mei, who died last winter, and raised my own cubs here."

"When Master Bunny arrived, saying the Dragon Warrior was a panda living at the Jade palace, I encouraged Xi-Wong to contact his lost son. Not only for the happiness of my friend, but to have the opportunity to meet you, finally." He turned toward Tigress, a smile spreading across his face. "Lin. My strong, spirited little sister."

Tigress was speechless. All her life she had wanted the love of a family. And now, she had a brother.

A brother…

"Tigress?"

She looked up to see…her brother… gazing at her quizically.

"I know this is a lot to take in," he said carefully, "but please say something."

Tigress looked down at the tiger-doll she still held. "I have a brother." She stated.

"And three nieces and two nephews." Li added with a smile.

A smile spread across Tigress' face as she met her brother's gaze. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out, and gently cupped her face with his larger paw.

This tender gesture was all Tigress needed and she threw her arms around him, hugging her brother for the first time.

"I have a brother." She repeated, and it was then that she realized that tears, actual tears, were trailing down her face.

~..~..~..~..

After the party ended the Five were in Li's house, learning where they will be sleeping.

"Cheng, you'll share your room with Master Monkey, and Master Mantis" Li informed them, "Wei, you will be sharing with Master Crane, Lian and Maylin will be sharing their room with Master Viper, and Da-Xia will share with Master Tigress."

"You're not sharing your room?" Cheng asked.

"And here I was, thinking you'd love to share with two Kung Fu Masters," Li commented.

His youngest son was quick to back track.

"Oh no, I love it!" Cheng was quick to assure his father before clinging to his father's leg, "please don't change your mind? I want to share!"

Li smiled. "Well, if you insist, son."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Li," Viper told their host.

"My pleasure, Master Viper," Li bowed.

"So?" Viper whispered to Tigress, as they made their way down the hall.

"So what?" Tigress asked.

"What's going on with you and Li?" Mantis asked bluntly, appearing suddenly on Tigress' shoulder.

"What do you mean: me and Li?" Tigress knew she was stalling, but she wasn't ready to tell her friends about what happened yet.

"Oh, come on," Crane prodded gently. "We saw the hug. Surprising, to say the least."

"And the way he touched your face was so sweet!" Viper sighed.

Tigress tensed up.

"It's not what you think," she told them.

"Then tell us what it really is," Crane suggested.

"Why should I?" Tigress could feel herself tensing. 'Fighting' as Li said earlier. She wasn't ready to tell, yet.

"If you don't, we'll just keep assuming," Monkey said in a sing-song voice, only to be wacked lightly by Viper's tail.

"We're your friends, Tigress," Viper said gently. "You can talk to us."

"I'm…still trying to figure it out myself, okay?" Tigress really wanted them to stop pushing her. "I'm not ready yet."

"Okay, Tigress," Viper said quickly. "We'll be here for you when you are."

Sighing with relief as her friends moved off to bed, Tigress carefully opened the door to Da-Xia's room.

"Master Tigress!" Da-Xia greeted happily. She'd spent all afternoon tidying her room, and hoped it was to the famous Master's liking. "Uh…" the young girl swallowed hesitantly. "May I call you Auntie Lin?"

Tigress started, staring at the girl before her.

"Your dad told you about me?" she asked.

Da-Xia nodded. "You're our favourite bedtime story," she explained. "It's why I've studied Martial Arts so much. I wanted to be able to leave here and visit the Jade Palace one day, to meet you myself." She smiled. "But you came _here_ instead."

Tigress stared at this young girl with her eyes full of hope, and for a moment, saw a younger version of herself, from long ago.

The door opened behind her, and Tigress turned to see Li standing cautiously in the doorway.

"Is everything all right in here?" He asked.

"Auntie Lin is going to have my bed," Da-Xia informed her father. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"You don't have to give up your bed, Da-Xia," Tigress told the girl, still slightly unnerved at being called 'Auntie Lin'.

"You're the guest, of course I do." Da-Xia said easily.

"Hey!" Cheng announced himself as he came barreling in the room to skid to a halt at Tigress' feet.

"Cheng, you're meant to be getting ready for bed," Li reprimanded.

"I am!" Cheng said defensively. "I just wanted to ask Master Tigress something.

"Of course you did, son," his father sighed.

Cheng turned back to the Kung Fu Master.

"Why did Master Shifu call you 'Tigress'?" Cheng asked curiously.

Tigress frowned slightly at the strange question.

"Because that's what I am," Tigress informed the boy. "It's just like how Shifu call's all his students, like Crane and Viper. Even Po is called 'Panda'sometimes."

"But," Cheng didn't understand, "Shifu adopted you, didn't he? So, you're his daughter. So, why didn't he give you a real name?"

Li watched as Tigress' face changed, becoming an expressionless mask.

"Cheng," he told his son in warning.

"Shifu adopted that other guy," Cheng continued, focusing on satisfying his curiosity. "Tai-Lung. He adopted him and gave him a real name. He didn't call him 'Leopard'. So, why would he adopt you, and just call you 'Tigress'?"

_"Cheng_," Li felt a growl enter his voice.

"What?" Cheng asked, unsure of what he'd said wrong. "I'm just asking." He turned back to Tigress, waiting.

Tigress' expression was difficult to read as she took a slow breath.

"I don't know," She said in a voice of forced calm. "You'll have to ask Shifu. Excuse me for a moment."

Bowing, Tigress quickly left the room.

"Well done, Cheng," Da-Xia told her youngest brother sarcastically.

"What?" The young cub looked worriedly from his father to his sister. "What did I do wrong? I just asked a question."

"And there's nothing wrong with asking," Li tried to keep his patience. "But you must learn the_ right_ way to ask, and _who_ to ask. And think whether you should ask _at all_."

"What do you mean?" Cheng asked.

Li sighed, more worried about his sister at the moment.

"Da-Xia, could you deal with Cheng, please? I need to find Master Tigress," Li asked his daughter, who nodded.

As her father left, Da-Xia turned disapprovingly to her little brother.

"When will you learn to keep your mouth shut?" She demanded.

"What did I _do_?" Cheng asked, frustrated. "What's wrong with asking a question?

"Didn't you see the look on her face?" Da-Xia prompted.

Cheng shook his head.

Sighing, Da-Xia sat on the ground, inviting her brother to join her.

"By asking why Shifu called her 'Tigress', rather than giving her a real name, like he'd done with Tai Lung, despite the fact that Shifu adopted her, you were implying to Tigress that Shifu only saw her as a student, and didn't love her like a daughter." Da-Xia explained to her brother slowly, trying to make him understand.

Cheng's eyes widened, and Da-Xia thought he was getting it.

"I did?" He whispered, guilty.

"And how would you feel," Da-Xia pressed, "if it turned out that the only father you've ever known didn't really love you?"

Cheng swallowed and hung his head.

"I hurt Auntie Tigress' feelings, didn't I?" He asked his sister glumly.

"Yes, Cheng," Da-Xia confirmed. "You did. Now can you see why father was angry with you?"

Cheng nodded.

"I'll go apologise!" The cub got up quickly, wanting to correct his mistake, but Da-Xia placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Wait till morning," his sister told him. "I don't think she'll be ready for apologies tonight."

Li made his way outside, where he found his sister punching a tree repeatedly.

"What did that tree do to make you hate it so much?" Li asked lightly, trying to help his sister calm down.

"Go away," Tigress hissed, adding kicks to her attacks.

Moving quickly, Li redirected Tigress' technique, forcing her to turn and face him.

"I apologise for my son," he told her gently. "His curiosity often gets him into trouble."

"I'm not angry at him," Tigress growled.

"And you're not angry at the tree, either," Li granted. "So, what are you angry at?"

Tigress tensed, saying nothing.

"Alright then," Li nodded, getting into a fighting position. "Take it out on me. The tree's clearly no challenge for you."

Growling, Tigress pounced.

The two tigers sparred, Tigress attacking and Li defending, allowing his sister to vent her frustration to its fullest extent. After a while, he could tell she was relaxing, and so ended the match by redirecting her towards a tree, which she easily maneuvered around to land lightly on her feet before him.

"Now that you've calmed down," Li told her. "Let's practice form: Tai Chi style, like before."

Nodding slowly, Tigress closed her eyes, consciously relaxed her muscles, and slowly began to move.

Li practiced alongside his sister, though he watched her more than anything else. Many times, he could see her getting tense, and so gave gentle reminders of relaxing and focusing on breathing.

"Focus only on your breath, sister," he told her. "Just let everything flow."

Tigress inhaled deeply, continuing her movements. In her mind, flashes of memory rose, unbidden.

"Let it flow," Li's calm voice told her as she felt herself tense again.

Tigress tried to focus on her breathing, but her throat felt tight. Shaking, she stumbled to a halt.

"Tigress," Li came to kneel before her, looking concernedly into her eyes. "Talk to me."

Tigress stared at her newfound brother.

"You're wrong you know," she told him. "I did need you."

Li swallowed.

"Tell me, Lin" he invited.

"Shifu's the only father I've ever known,' Tigress whispered. "He was the only one who didn't call me a monster. But even when he adopted me, I was never allowed to call him 'father'. I tried to, many times, but he always corrected me. I had to call him 'Master Shifu'."

Li frowned slightly.

"When I heard about Tai Lung for the first time," Tigress continued, words pouring out of her mouth that she never recalled ever saying before now, "and how Shifu raised him as a son, I knew that's what I wanted: to be treated as a daughter." Tigress hung her head. "I'd heard stories about how Tai Lung was the greatest student Shifu had ever trained, so I thought that was how I could get his approval of me. I thought, if I proved my worth, I could make Shifu love me the way he loved Tai Lung. I began punching iron wood trees when I was ten, trying to make myself stronger. I would practice my forms and my combinations and demonstrate for him, each time hoping to see pride or joy in his face, but all he ever did was simply correct my mistakes. So I trained even harder," Tigress continued. "I wanted to be perfect, for him. I wanted to be his best student, the one he thought of as his child…" Tigress angrily punched the ground beneath her.

"But I was never good enough!" Tigress couldn't stop herself now, the floodgate had opened, and the water was released, free at last. "I wanted to be the Dragon Warrior for him, to prove that I could be what Tai lung could not. When Po was chosen, I defied my Master, travelling to fight Tai Lung myself, determined to prove that I was better, that I was worthy. That he could be proud of me… and I failed _again_."

Li listened silently, letting his sister tell her story for what appeared to be the first time.

"Surely Shifu's told you he's proud of you?" he put forward hesitantly.

"He says he's proud of _us_, the Five, as a group. That he's proud of his _students_." Tigress admitted. "But he'd never told me that he's proud of his daughter. He's never _once_ treated me as his daughter."

Tigress hung her head, curling into herself.

"Maybe I should stop hoping," she whispered, tears trailing down her face to drip onto the ground. "I'll never truly be his daughter. He'll _never_ love me like he did Tai Lung."

Li gently lifted his sister's chin until he could see her eyes.

'I'm so sorry, Lin," he told her. He had really thought she had everything at the Jade Palace. Why else would Shifu turn him away?

"I _did_ need you, Li," Tigress whispered.

Li wrapped his sister in a hug, trying to offer her as much comfort as she could.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to take care of you, Lin." Li told his sister. "I can only offer you a brother's love," he added. "And I hope that's enough."

Tigress held her brother tighter, feeling like the cub she had once been who would sit, huddled on the edge of her bed after a nightmare. Slowly, she could feel her muscles relax into her brother's embrace, and warmth began to spread through her, healing her pain as if she were sinking in a hot bath after a hard day's training.

Taking a deep breath, she sat back to meet her brother's gaze.

"A brother's love is enough," she told him.

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: So, what did you think?

Ever since Tigress told the story about Tai Lung in the first Kung Fu Panda movie, I felt that one of the main reasons she pushed herself so hard was to make Shifu happy.

While I was writing the last scene, I was reminded of when Tai Lung was fighting Shifu and yelling: 'Everything I did, I did to make you proud!'

I imagine Tigress actually feels similarly, wanting to make Shifu proud of her, and everything she did, was for that reason.

I think she did want to become the Dragon Warrior, to prove that she was better than Tai Lung- I just kept on thinking of the scene where they confront Tai Lung on the bridge: Tai Lung asks, 'Where is the Dragon Warrior?" and Tigress replies 'How do you know you aren't looking at her?" I think she was trying to, not just intimidate her opponent, but have a dig, to try and make him think that she had achieved what he did not.

Please tell me what you think of the chapter, and I'll try to update as soon as I can.


	6. Chapter 5: Exodus

Author's note: Hi everybody! In this chapter, we're heading back to the Valley of Peace, so it's mostly filled with travelling, but if you read closely, I've put in clues as to where I'm planning for the story to go... See if you can spot them!

~..~..~..~..

The next morning, Xi-Wong called a meeting to discuss the next move regarding the refugees.

The meeting was being held in the party clearing, where the guardians and leaders in the village had been called to attend. The only extra people present were Jia and Nuan, who were serving breakfast to everybody.

Po paced impatiently around the table, munching on a bean bun distractedly. Xi-Wong and Yue-Yan had arrived, along with Crane, Mantis, Monkey and Viper. Wen, being the most influential member of his village, had been elected as the spokesperson.

But Tigress and Li hadn't shown up yet.

Po was worried. It wasn't like Tigress to be late. Granted, she wasn't late, as the meeting hadn't started, but still… Where was she?

"What's worrying you, son?" Xi-Wong asked in concern.

Sighing, Po was about to reply when Tigress and Li came running into the clearing.

"Nothing dad," Po answered before rushing forward.

"Tigress!" Po greeted. "Uh…good morning…where have you been?"

"It was my fault," Li bowed in apology. "After the others left, my children cornered Master Tigress." A smile hovered around the corners of his mouth. "She barely escaped unscathed." Tigress shot him a look of warning.

"It's alright, Li, you're not late," Yue-Yan told the pair kindly. "Sit down and eat, we were just about to start."

Jia and Nuan bowed, excusing themselves before leaving.

As soon as the young pandas left, Wen stood up politely, adjusting his glasses. "Before we begin," he said formally. "On behalf of my village, I would like to thank you all for accepting us into your homes, and for your most gracious hospitality in our time of need."

"It is our pleasure, Wen," Xi-Wong assured him. "I hope you are all coping well."

"Oh, I have spoken to many of my companions, and we are all very grateful to you for your help," the red panda bowed low. "My son, Ming, was among those injured, and he is now on his way to making a full recovery, thanks to Yue-Yan's skill as a healer."

"I'm glad to hear he's doing better, Wen," Yue-Yan answered.

"But Wen," Po gained the refugee's attention. "What happened to your village?"

The red panda sighed, placing his hands behind his back.

"There was a great earthquake outside our village the other day," he began in a controlled voice. "The very ground beneath out homes cracked, causing the buildings to fall into the earth. Many of us lost our lives. All of us lost our homes. Those of us who were able to escape had little more than the clothes on our backs, and many of us were injured by the rockslides in the aftermath." Wen's ears drooped sadly, but he kept his head high and proud. "We were planning on travelling through the mountains to the next village, when your guardian," Wen gestured to Li, "came and found us, directing us to your village. Strange, to see a tiger," he added in a thoughtful whisper, "but it was truly a blessing for us." He bowed once more.

"An earthquake?" Xi-Wong noted with alarm, for in his meditations lately, he had seen images of moving rocks, among other things, but it had been too jumbled to make sense of.

"There _was_ a slight tremor the other day," Yue-Yan realised. "Do you remember, Li?"

"Yes," The tiger guardian nodded. "It knocked a few of my tools off the wall, but nothing more than that."

"There could be a chance the earthquake may move towards here," Crane added. "Even if the earthquake itself doesn't spread, we'll be feeling the aftershocks, and they can cause worse damage."

"Like…rockslides?" Po asked fearfully.

Xi-Wong took a deep breath, "I believe," he began slowly, "that for everyone's safety, we should evacuate the village."

"What?" Yue-Yan asked. "But, the patients in the infirmary…they've just started their recovery, they can't leave now!

"What about the refugees?" Wen asked, concerned for his people. "We've just found a place to sleep after days of travel, many of us are still recovering. You can't ask them to move again."

"I'm sorry, Wen, but it looks like we'll have to," Li put forward his opinion. "For Xi-Wong and Master Crane are right. If an earthquake happened in these mountains, then it is no longer safe to stay here. If we do not move now, an aftershock may cause a rockslide that could leave _us_ with no home." He turned to Yue-Yan seriously. "It's time to leave our life of isolation and rejoin the world once more."

"But," Yue-Yan put forward. "Where can we go? Many places have never seen pandas for years. What place will be able to accommodate or accept so many pandas?"

"The food shortages alone…" Mantis muttered under his breath, remembering how much food there had been last night. Thankfully, only Monkey heard him.

But Po had an idea…

"I know the perfect place," he announced to everyone. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" He looked around at his friends, sharing a smile. "You guys can all come to the Valley of Peace!"

"The Valley of Peace?" Xi-Wong repeated hopefully. "Where you grew up?"

"Yeah!" Po cheered. "It's far enough away from the mountains to be safe, you can meet my dad, everyone can find lodgings in the valley until they find their feet- it's perfect!"

"I think it's an excellent idea," Li granted. "But we can't just show up."

"I'll send a letter to Shifu right now!" Po raced off in excitement. "This is gonna be awesome!"

"Well," Xi-Wong turned back to those gathered. "It appears that we have quite the journey ahead of us." The panda mystic bowed to the Furious Five. "I hope I would not be asking too much, if-"

"We would be happy to help everyone evacuate," Tigress put in quickly, and the Five Masters bowed together.

Yue-Yan stood up slowly.

"I will inform Nuan of the decision, and begin preparations for departure," she announced, feeling a little overwhelmed at the task and journey ahead. Not to mention what lay at the end of that journey…

'Shifu.' She didn't even have the courage to say his name aloud. What would it be like, to see him again?

"Would you like some help organising the patients in the infirmary, Yue-Yan?"

Crane asked, offering his assistance.

Yue-Yan bowed gratefully. "Yes, thank you, Master Crane."

As the meeting broke up, with each member going to make preparations for leaving, Po was back in his room at Xi-Wong's, excitedly writing a letter to Shifu, explaining everything.

As he posted it, while he felt sad that the people here had to leave their homes, he couldn't deny feeling a shiver of excitement.

Master Bunny had said that it would be Po's job to bring the pandas back, now that the threat of Lord Shen was over.

And bring them back he will.

~..~..~..~

Back at the Jade Palace, Master Bunny was once again paying a visit, and Shifu was serving tea, the pair having just completed a friendly sparring match.

"I'm always impressed with how fast you are, Shifu," Master Bunny commented as the tea was poured.

"Oh come now, Shu," as they were alone, Shifu took the liberty of calling his friend by her given name, rather than her title, "I could barely keep pace with you."

"Have you heard from your students yet?" she asked, taking a sip of the hot tea.

Shifu shook his head.

"Not yet," he answered, picking up his own cup, "but I expect there will be news soon."

"Master Shifu!" Zang came rushing into the room, waving a scroll. "A message from the Dragon Warrior!"

"Wow, that _was_ soon," Shifu commented drily as he accepted the message. "I hope you don't mind, Shu, if I read it now?"

"Oh no, you go ahead, Shifu," The Master of the Bunny style of Kung Fu took another sip of her tea.

Bowing in gratitude, Shifu unscrolled the letter.

_Dear Master Shifu,_

_We found the panda village in the Mysterious Mountains. It is seriously the most awesome thing I've ever seen- the whole place is full of pandas, except one family of tigers: Li and his five kids. I've even met my birth father, Xi-Wong, and my cousin, Jia._

_There's a bit of a problem here though. Some refugees from a neighbouring village turned up, 'cause their homes were destroyed by an earthquake. Li and Yue-Yan say that they've been feeling tremors lately as well, so we've decided it's not safe for everyone to stay here._

_So, we're bringing everyone to the Valley of Peace, as it's far enough away from the mountains to be safe from any aftershocks, but I thought it best to give you a heads up so that you can arrange for some kind of temporary housing for these people, until they decide where they want to go._

_Some are injured and most don't have anything other than what they were wearing on the day of the earthquake. We need to give these people a safe, fresh start, Shifu. Please let the Valley know how much these people need our help._

_We should be there in a few days, see you then,_

_Po._

Master Bunny watched her friend's face change as he read the scroll, until he was frowning with worry.

"Shifu?"

The master of the Jade Palace straightened up, thinking.

"Master Bunny," he began, "I believe I'm going to need your help. For while Po and the Five were successful in finding the Panda Village, it appears earthquakes in the area have made it unsafe."

"Earthquakes?" Master Bunny repeated warily, thinking. "There have been lots of reports of natural disasters occurring in other villages around the mountains too," she put forward. "Fires and flash floods…"

"And the survivors need a place to stay," Shifu nodded. "We need to prepare the Valley."

~..~..~..~..

Li worked outside his house, loading a cart securely with as many things from their home as possible, including tools from his shop, so as to begin his trade once more in their new home.

"I'm sorry, Maylin," he told his youngest daughter as he turned around. "But your bed is too big to take with us. Everything we take, we have to be able to carry, so only pack your bag with your most precious possessions- things that you can't replace. Anything you can't carry will go on the cart, but nothing too big or heavy."

Glumly, Maylin turned and went back to her room, wondering how many of her things she could fit in her one bag.

Hearing his father's words, Wei soon took his sister's place, weaving through Da-Xia and the other kids, as well as Master Tigress as he came to stand before his father.

"Can we take mum with us?" He asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

Li looked at his son, surprised.

"Of course we're taking your mother with us," Li confirmed to his son's relief. "I thought you were inside, getting her ready to travel."

"I can't do it on my own," Wei admitted reluctantly.

"Why don't you introduce your mother to your new Aunt," Li suggested as he tightened a rope.

Grinning, Wei ran over to Master Tigress.

"Auntie Lin!" He greeted. "I need your help with something."

Tigress followed the boy through the house, until they came to a room she had never been in before. Opening the door, Tigress' eyes widened as the place was practically empty, save for a painting of a beautiful white tiger hanging on a wall. A woven mat, a small gong, candles and incense sticks were laid on the floor beneath it.

"Auntie Lin," Wei told the visiting Master proudly, "I'd like you to meet my mother, Mei."

Tigress beheld the magnificently detailed painting. Mei had been beautiful indeed. She was portrayed performing Tai Chi in the grove of trees outside Li's home.

"This is a beautiful painting, Wei," Tigress told the boy. "A fitting tribute to your mother."

"Thank you," Wei smiled proudly. "I thought of painting her during winter, as that was when she died, but mum so loved the cherry blossoms in the spring, so that's what I chose instead."

Tigress turned to Li's second born in surprise.

"_You_ painted this Wei?"

"Yeah, I know," the young tiger nodded, a little embarrassed. "Not exactly the type of thing you'd expect from a tiger, right?"

"No, that's not it," Tigress was quick to assure her nephew. "I think it's amazing, especially as you're so young."

Wei shrugged modestly. "Well, mum and dad have always said that it's good to have a balance. Power and gentleness, yin and yang..."

"Fire and Water," Tigress added softly.

Wei nodded. "So, as well as learning to fight, each of us had to pick some kind of 'gentle' art form to master as well, to maintain our personal balance. I chose painting." The young tiger looked up at the picture of his mother. "I wanted mother's portrait to be my best work. We all come in here now, to light a candle, or simply to talk to her. It still helps, even though it's been months now..."

Tigress nodded in understanding. As she took a moment to look at the picture, she wondered what her own mother had looked like. "Perhaps I can ask Li,' she thought to herself.

Together, Tigress and Wei carefully lowered Mei's portrait from the wall, rolled it up and placed it in a long, bamboo carrying case for travel.

"Is that mum's painting?" Cheng came running up as the pair made their way outside as Li tied the last few items onto the cart.

"Yes, it is," Wei held on to the bamboo case protectively as Cheng reached for it.

"Can I carry it?" He asked. "Please?"

"No." Wei told his little brother firmly. "I painted this for our mother, so I'm the one who's going to protect it on our journey to the Valley of Peace."

"Awww!" Cheng whined. "Dad!"

"The artist has the right to decide what to do with his own work, Cheng," Li told his youngest son wearily before looking up. "But, as Mei was precious to us all, perhaps we can take turns protecting her portrait?"

Wei thought for a moment before nodding.

"I'm going first," he announced as his father took hold of the cart, ready to leave.

"Me next!" Cheng put in quickly as he climbed on top of the cart, only to have his father place him once more on the ground.

"You're perfectly capable of walking out of the village, Cheng," his father told him. "But yes, you can carry your mother's picture after Wei."

"Can I help pull the cart, dad?" Da-Xia came forward, but Li shook his head in the negative.

"No, I've got it, sweetheart. Just keep your siblings in line as much as possible as we leave.

"Bye house," Maylin waved to their home as the family moved away. "We'll miss you, but we're gonna make a new home, so it won't be so bad."

Tigress walked alongside her brother as they moved to join the other inhabitants of the village as they began to evacuate.

"Your son Wei is quite an artist," she put forward carefully, unsure of how to ask what she wanted.

"Yes, he is," Li nodded, proud of his son's talent. "He definitely did _not_ get it from me, I can tell you that. Which reminds me…" Reaching into a pocket, Li drew out something which he kept tightly in his fist.

"I found this while I was packing," he told his sister slowly, holding it out to her. "It belonged to our mother. I thought you might like it."

It was a golden locket. A large stone of Jade in the centre was the only ornamentation.

"Open it, Lin," Li instructed.

Cautiously, Tigress opened the oval locket to find two small portraits staring back up at her. Two tigers.

"Are these…" Tigress couldn't even finish the question.

"Our parents," Li confirmed gently.

Tigress stared down at the small portraits, seeing what her parents looked like for the first time in her life.

"Our father's name was Rong," Li supplied. "Our mother's name was Min."

"Rong," Tigress whispered, tracing the features of her father. He and Li shared many of the same strong features. Tigress could see that while she had the same shaped face as her father, she shared her features more with her mother.

"Min."

Looking up at her brother, Tigress could barely breathe.

"It's yours, Lin." Li told her. "I know our mother would've wanted you to have it."

"Thank you," she told him, placing the gold chain over her head so that the locket hung over her heart.

Together, everyone in the village left through the tunnel in the Mysterious Mountains, helping to carry each other's bulkier possessions, or to help move a cart that got caught in the rocks.

~..~..~..~..

"Hey Li," Po approached the tiger as the travelers stopped for a break later that morning. "Can I ask you something?"

"You may, Dragon Warrior," Li granted, turning to face the panda.

Po hesitated slightly under the strong gaze of the large male tiger. However, he was the Dragon Warrior, and he wasn't going to let Li's strong stature intimidate him.

"Did you give Tigress that locket she's wearing?" He asked him bluntly.

"Yes, I did," the tiger answered calmly.

Po swallowed.

"Why?"

Li lowered his eyes thoughtfully.

"I thought she'd like it," he answered softly.

Po frowned as the tiger's stoic expression softened.

"Alright!" Po cried out in exasperation, "enough with all the vague answers! What is going on with you and Tigress? She's been acting weird since you two met."

Li raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"She hasn't told you yet?" He asked.

"What?" Po asked. "Told us what?"

Li sighed. "If she hasn't told you yet," he began slowly, "it must be because she's not ready to tell you. I'll respect her wishes, and I suggest you do the same, Dragon Warrior," he told the panda. "Master Tigress will tell you all when she is ready."

~..~..~..~..

As the large group travelled, bandits would sometimes try to attack, in which case Po and the Five would fend them off. However, the group was so large that the six masters could not be everywhere at once, and it was in one such circumstance that Po and the Five were able to see just how well Yue-Yan and Li had taught their fellow villagers.

A group of masked bandits attempted to attack a panda family while the Five and Po were distracted elsewhere in the group. Word spread quickly, however, but by the time the friends got there, they were brought to a halt in shock as they watched the bandits fly through the air as the pandas plushy bodies absorbed any attack, no matter how powerful or ferocious, before using tai chi to use the bandits' own energy against them, sending them flying.

The Jade Palace Masters watched, impressed as the bandits ran off.

"Wow," Mantis was impressed. "You guys are pretty good with that Tai Chi stuff."

"Yue-Yan taught us all well," one of the pandas answered as she gathered the possessions which had become scattered during the fight.

"Why Tai Chi though?" Crane asked curiously, picking up a stray pot and returning it to its owner.

"Well, Tai Chi is probably the best martial art for a panda to learn," came the answer from behind them, and the six masters turned to see Nuan.

"Why?" Viper asked.

"Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed from sparring Po," Nuan began, "but 'hard core' doesn't have much impact on pandas."

"We've noticed," Monkey confirmed with a chuckle, nudging the Dragon Warrior in the stomach.

"Now Tai Chi, on the other hand," Nuan continued, "is absolutely perfect. Because, while you're being attacked by these hard strikes, you're not only able to absorb that energy, but you can deflect your opponent at the same time. Pandas are naturals at it."

"I noticed that while training with Li the other day," Tigress granted. "I could barely touch him."

"Exactly," Nuan nodded. "He's been training with us, so he knows how to fight like us. You came at him 'hard core' and all he had to do was absorb and deflect." Nuan did a couple of moves as she spoke, to demonstrate.

"That's cool," Po commented before turning to Tigress.

"So what's with you and Li?" He asked.

Growling slightly, Tigress simply walked away.

"Not yet," she answered firmly.

~..~..~..~..

As they continued to travel, many of the members of Wen's village decided to remain in villages they'd passed throughout their journey, so their party was slightly smaller than it had been when they started.

But eventually, they made it to the boundaries of the Valley of Peace.

"So this is it," Jia commented as she came to stand beside her cousin, "your home."

"It's _our_ home now, Jia," Po told her before turning back to their large party.

"Come on everybody!" he cheered. "You're gonna have a warm bed and a bowl of noodles before the day is out!"

Cheering as their new home was now in sight, the group began making their way to the Valley.

Li and Yue Yan gazed steadily up at the Jade palace where it sat atop the mountain overlooking the Valley, before sharing a look. Each of them had questions for the master of the Jade Palace.

But what answers would await them?

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: So, what do you think? I was planning for everyone to actually arrive in the Valley of Peace at the end of this chapter, but I thought we should save Shifu and Mr Ping reuniting and meeting everyone for the _next_ chapter, where we'll also see more of what Long's been up to.

Did you spot my clues?

Let the theorizing begin!


	7. Chapter 6: Reunions

Author's note: Hi everybody, thank you so much to those of you who have left reviews- I really appreciate your feedback!

Okay, this chapter is predominantly a Shifu-centric chapter, and it's basically 'the calm before the storm'. Hope you enjoy it!

~..~..~..`..

Chao and his masked bandits settled around their campsite, sorting through the possessions they had obtained throughout the day.

Chao sat amongst his group as they trained, or fought over their prizes, lost in his own thoughts.

The large travelling group they had targeted today…_pandas_. Chao shook his head. He had thought that all the pandas had been killed by Lord Shen.

'Apparently not', he said to himself drily.

Chao's claws raked the ground beneath him. Something didn't add up here.

First, the earthquake in the mountains… Not overly unusual, but then, there were the other natural disasters in the surrounding villages, which seemed to have no real explanation…not that he was complaining, of course. He and his group had never eaten so well as they had over the past few days, what with refugees travelling to find new homes.

But then this big group of pandas appears…

Ripping off his mask in frustration, the large tiger stood up. Pandas had made fool of him and his group. He'd never fought a panda before, and he'd assumed they would be easy. But, it seemed that pandas have a natural defense against direct attacks.

Casting his eyes over his group, Chao roared for attention. Every tiger in his band froze.

"We were made fools of today," he hissed to them all. "By giant teddy bears!" Turning, he swiftly dealt a blow to the log he had been sitting on, reducing it to splinters and kindling. "And instead of acting like the Great Cats we are, you're behaving like a bunch of rabid _dogs_!"

"Sir," one of his group put forward carefully, "we have more food and possessions than we have ever had. For the first time, we're actually going to go to sleep with a full stomach. Why are you treating one failed attempt today as a catastrophe?"

Chao lashed out and sent the young tiger flying backward into their campfire.

Screaming in pain, the young tiger rolled to put out the flames that had latched on to him.

"You're a third-born, Cong," Chao growled. "I can't expect a _weaker_ tiger to understand. But a _first-born_ knows," he told his group, "that victory is the only option worth having."

"I couldn't agree more," a cold voice said from behind them.

Turning, Chao found himself face to face with a large crocodile, eyes as black as ink, and flanked by about twenty tigers, standing as still as statues.

In seconds, Chao and his group prepared themselves for a fight.

"Who are you?" Chao demanded. 'And how did I not sense your approach?' he added to himself.

The big crocodile smiled.

"I am the Dragon Sorcerer, Long," he replied coolly. "And I'm recruiting tigers for my army. First-borns are my preferred option, however," those black eyes drifted over the group, "I realize that tigers are rather scattered and in slim pickings nowadays."

"Why would we want to join you?" It wasn't that Chao wasn't interested in a job, with _payment_, but his gut was telling him not to trust the crocodile before him.

"Well," Long smiled, "I'm not exactly looking for _volunteers_."

Yells sounded behind him, and Chao turned to see that every weapon that his group possessed had turned themselves on their owners. Chao's own sword was hovering before him, pointed directly at his throat.

"Now," Long stepped forward calmly. "You have two options, my friend," The sorcerer stretched a claw towards the smoldering campfire, causing the flames to leap into the air, creating a giant fire ball.

"You will serve me in my army, and help me reclaim the Valley of Peace, then China, as my own. Or you will burn from the inside out."

Seeing Long's power, Chao felt a shiver of fear travelling up his spine. Though he tried to deny it, telling himself it was anticipation at possibly getting to share in some of that power.

"We're in," he said.

"Good decision," Long smiled. Reaching forward, Long touched the tip of a claw between the bandit leader's eyes.

"Ahh!"

The bandits watched, as what appeared to be _lighting_ travelled from Long and into Chao, spreading throughout the Tiger's body.

Clutching his head, the tiger fell to his knees, fighting furiously against whatever it was inside him.

"There's no point in fighting," Long told him. "You're mine, now."

Slowly, Chao's breathing calmed down, and his muscles relaxed. His group watched as their leader stood up once more.

As Chao raised his head, and opened his eyes, his bandits staggered back in shock, for his eyes were no longer the golden colour of a tiger's, but pure white.

Just like the other tigers who were under Long's command.

"Chao?" one of the bandits asked warily.

"Chao's not here anymore," Long answered, turning to the group. "And neither will any of you be. You are all _mine_ to control."

"Well not me!" One tiger roared before attacking.

Almost lazily, Long summoned the earth beneath their feet, and soon the attacking tiger was pinned to the ground, encased in earth and unable to move.

"That is exactly the kind of spirit and power I want," Long smiled, touching a claw between the tiger's eyes.

"Yao!" The others cried out as their friend was soon taken over as well.

Long turned towards the remaining tigers as Yao calmly stood to attention after being released, his eyes as white as the others under Long's command.

"There is no escape," Long told them, and the statement was made all the more chilling, as the controlled tigers spoke in unison with their master. "You are mine to control."

With a wave of a claw, Long trapped each member of the group of bandits in rock.

No matter how they struggled, the tigers could not get free.

One by one, Long touched a claw between their eyes, sending his chi into their minds.

~..~..~..~..

In the Valley of Peace, the streets were crowded with people as Shifu, Master Bunny and the other kung fu masters walked amongst the refugees, helping people find lodgings. Master Bunny had even called in some help in the form of five of her own students, to help with the organization.

For while the villagers in the Valley of Peace had kindly opened their doors to the refugees, Shifu had to admit that there were quite a deal more than he had first thought.

"The Jade Palace will have to be open to these refugees as well," Shifu commented to Master Bunny.

"Perhaps the village leaders and their families?" she suggested. "Then we can all go over our options for what to do next."

Shifu nodded in agreement before calling Master Crane over.

"Tell the Village Leaders that they are welcome to stay at the Jade Palace with their families," he told his student. "As well as anyone else without a place to stay. We need to go over our options once everyone is settled."

Bowing, Master Crane took off.

~..~..~..~..

Po was weaving his way through the crowds until he reached his father's noodle shop.

Mr. Ping was at his marketing best, selling noodles to the hungry travelers as the bunny family from Wen's village he was boarding, helped out around the restaurant.

"Po!" Mr. Ping hugged his son in delight. "I, uh, see you found the panda village," Mr. Ping gestured to the many pandas that were seated in the restaurant, eating dumplings and slurping noodles hungrily.

"Yeah, I did." Po said proudly. "Now, dad," Po stood aside to allow Xi-Wong and Jia to step through the doorway, "I'd like you to meet my birthfather, Xi-Wong, and my cousin, Jia. Guys, this is my father, Mr Ping."

"Mr. Ping," Xi-Wong came forward and bowed. "It is an honor to finally meet the one who was kind enough to rescue my son. Without you, I would have truly lost him." The panda took the goose's hand warmly in both of his own. "I don't know how I can repay you."

Mr. Ping swallowed anxiously.

"Would you like some noodle soup?" He asked. "It's a secret family recipe."

"Again, you show your kindness, Mr. Ping," Xi-Wong bowed. "Thank you."

Po led his birthfather and cousin to a table, before hurrying onto the kitchen with his father to prepare the meal.

"So dad, what do you think of Xi-Wong?" Po asked eagerly as he cooked. "He's nice, right?"

"Well…yes," Mr. Ping admitted slowly. "He seems very…nice."

Po turned to his father, who was mournfully adding noodles to a pot of boiling water.

"Dad?" Po asked, concerned. "What is it?"

"Nothing, son," Mr. Ping's voice caught and Po realized that his father was crying.

"Dad?"

"I said 'it's nothing!" Mr. Ping exclaimed, turning to face the panda he had found in a radish basket. "You've found your home village, and pandas, just like you, and your father, who's just like you, and your cousin, who's just like you, and now you bring them here… to replace…_me_."

"Oh, dad, no." Po was quick to assure his father, wrapping the goose into a bear hug. "You're my father, dad, you know that. Xi-Wong's _never_ going to replace you. I just want to get to know him."

"But he's your father, too" Mr. Ping reminded his son fearfully.

"Yeah, so?' Po asked. "Why can't I have two dads? Most people have two parents, you know."

"But you're still my son?" Mr. Ping asked anxiously. "You're not going to leave?"

"I'm your son, dad." Po told his father firmly. "And I promise: I will _never_ leave you."

Mr. Ping wrapped his wings around his boy as tightly as he could.

"I love you, son," he whispered.

"I love you too, dad,' Po answered, gently setting his father back on the ground with a smile.

"Now," Po challenged. "Let's give these new guys the best noodles at Mr. Ping's!"

"That's my boy!" Mr. Ping cheered as he picked up his ladle. "You know…" he thought aloud. "With all these new people in town, I may have to make an extension on the restaurant to make room for all the extra customers!"

"How about a takeaway?" Po suggested as he chopped. "That way, people can still buy your food, even if the restaurant's full."

A takeaway restaurant? "Now there's an idea…" Mr. Ping considered.

~..~..~..~..

Shifu watched as The Jade Palace gates opened to allow the refugees to enter. Zang, along with the others who served at the palace helped to show people to spare rooms.

"I still don't see why I couldn't have walked," Shifu heard a voice grumble behind him.

"Ming, your leg is still badly broken and there are one _thousand_ steps to the palace," a voice answered. "There is no way you could have made it on your own."

Shifu froze, feeling his breath catch at the back of his throat. He knew that voice…

Turning, the master of the Jade Palace saw a young red panda being carried through the gates on a stretcher, his leg heavily bandaged. Two other red pandas were carrying him.

"I don't like being helpless," the teenage boy grumbled.

"I understand, son," the one who was clearly his father said as the stretcher was gently lain on the courtyard ground. "But sometimes, when you need help, you have to put your pride to one side."

"Let your father and I carry you, Ming," the woman assured the boy gently. "If you rest your leg, you'll recover faster."

Wen stretched his aching muscles, moaning slightly in pain.

"I can treat you for that, if you like," the woman added hesitantly.

"Thank you, Yue-Yan," Wen answered, looking pointedly to his son. "I'm grateful for your help."

"Yue-Yan," Shifu whispered. Po's letter had mentioned someone named Yue-Yan, but Shifu had never _dreamed_ that it would have been…

His eyes travelled to the one called Wen.

_Wen_… Shifu realized that this must be the one that Yue-Yan had been arranged to marry.

His memory travelled back to the letter that Oogway had delivered to him just after he pledged himself to Kung Fu. He had been shocked to realize that Yue-Yan was risking ostracism from her family to be with him. He hadn't wanted to be the cause of Yue-Yan's family being disgraced and had hoped that, by not replying, she would return home to the life that she deserved.

Seeing the boy on the stretcher, Shifu had to assume that she had.

Shifu swallowed before composing himself. After all, he should be glad that Yue-Yan had married and saved her honour, as well as that of her family.

So why did he, Master of the Jade Palace, feel the need to run and hide?

Yue-Yan looked up from checking Ming's leg to see the greatest Kung Fu teacher in all of China, standing as if frozen, a short distance away.

"Shifu?" Yue-Yan whispered. Hearing the name, Wen turned around.

"So that's Shifu?" Wen asked curiously, and Yue-Yan slowly nodded, trying to breathe.

Shifu came forward slowly, as if approaching a skittish horse.

"Yue-Yan," he greeted, bowing. "Welcome to the Jade Palace."

"Shifu," Yue-Yan bowed, shaking slightly.

Seeing Yue-Yan's discomfort, Wen stepped forward. "Thank you for accepting us," he bowed.

"It is my duty, and my pleasure," Shifu replied formally.

"Oh, yes," Yue-Yan composed herself quickly. "Shifu, may I introduce you to Wen."

"So," Shifu bowed slowly. "Wen…you are the one Yue-Yan was arranged to marry?"

Wen bowed, studying the kung fu master before him. "Yes," he answered slowly, "that's correct."

"You two were arranged to be married?" Ming asked curiously, never having heard this story before.

"Yes, son," Wen answered carefully. "We were."

Shifu turned his eyes toward Yue-Yan.

"Uh…it is good to see you, Yue-Yan," he bowed.

"And you," Yue-Yan answered, bowing politely back.

The longer he stared at her, studying her face, the more Shifu felt what could only be described as pure panic rising in his chest.

"Zang!" He called.

"Yes Master Shifu," the goose came forward.

Shifu cleared his throat.

"Please show…Wen…and his family to a spare room," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

Turning, Shifu moved away as quickly as he could without it being clear that he was fleeing.

"Master Shifu!"

Turning, Shifu saw Tigress approaching.

"Ah, Tigress," he greeted with relief. "It's good to see you've returned safely from your journey."

He frowned slightly when he saw the locket hanging around her neck. Tigress had never worn jewelry before.

"Where did you get that necklace?" He asked.

"From me."

Shifu's widened as a second tiger came to stand beside Master Tigress.

"My name is Li," the male tiger bowed, not taking his eyes of the Master of the Jade Palace. "Do you remember me, Master Shifu?"

Shifu stood, composing himself after his moment of surprise.

"Yes," he answered guardedly. "I do remember you."

"Good," Li stepped forward. "Then I would like to speak with you, alone."

His initial reaction was to refuse, but upon seeing the accusing look on Tigress' face, Shifu thought it was time.

"Very well," he answered. "This way."

Li shared a look with his sister before following Shifu to the Peach Tree.

"So," Shifu began, "what do you wish to know, Li?"

The large tiger approached the Kung Fu Master, anger simmering within his eyes.

"Why did you send me away?" He whispered.

Shifu raised an eyebrow.

"You're asking me this now?"

"Well, you didn't give me much opportunity to ask, last time I saw you," Li answered slowly.

Shifu took a breath, making his expression as calm as possible.

"You were not here for the right reasons," he answered.

"How is 'family' the wrong reason?" Li demanded.

"I didn't say the _wrong_ reason," Shifu clarified, "I said it wasn't the _right_ reason."

Li frowned. "I don't understand," he admitted.

Shifu sighed.

"Tai Lung had just been sent to prison, when Oogway found there was a tiger cub causing strife at the Bao Gu Orphanage," he began. "Oogway suggested I go and teach the young cub, and help her control her strength. He said that it may help me heal after losing my son- uh- student."

But Li had caught the slip up.

"And you adopted my sister, yet did not treat her as a daughter."

Shifu remained silent.

Li had had enough.

"How could you do that to a little girl?" He demanded. "How could you adopt Lin and then not even see her as your daughter?"

Shifu frowned,

"Lin?" He asked, curious.

"My sister," Li clarified.

"Hmm," Shifu considered. "So that was what you called her."

"Better than the name _you_ gave her," Li spat sullenly. "'Tigress' isn't even a real name."

"'Tigress' was what those at the _Orphanage_ called her," Shifu explained. "It was the only name she had ever known, and as I was taking her as a student, I saw no point in giving her a new one."

"But you _only_ ever saw her as a student!"Li yelled. "You never treated her like family! If you _knew_ that was how you were going to treat her, why didn't you let me stay? I could have given her the love she needed, growing up."

"She didn't need it," Shifu said slowly, trying to keep his temper. "She's turned out very well, and is one of my best students. And as you came to the Jade Palace for Tigress, rather than for Kung Fu, you would have simply distracted her from her training."

"She did need me!" Li argued. "She told me so herself! Why would you deny Lin the only thing she ever wanted: a father's love?"

"I don't have to justify myself to you," Shifu said coolly.

"No, you have to justify yourself to _Lin_," Li replied. "And believe me, she will ask, Shifu."

Shifu turned away, unwilling to answer.

"You raised Tai Lung as a son," Li accused.

"And look what became of him!" Shifu snapped, whirling around. "It was my love for him that blinded me to what he was turning into! I couldn't make that mistake again!"

Li's eyes widened at finally getting a glimpse into the great master's way of thinking. But still…

"Lin is _not_ Tai Lung," he felt a growl building at the back of his throat.

"No," Shifu granted. "She's not. I didn't make the same mistake, with her."

"No," Li agreed flatly. "You just made brand new ones."

Shifu scowled at the large tiger.

"I am not perfect," Shifu granted.

"Understatement of the Dynasty," Li spat.

"But I have still given Tigress a better life than you would have, if you had got her out of the orphanage before I did," Shifu finished.

Li swallowed.

"I would have loved her," he stepped forward until he was standing over the Kung Fu Master, "which was the only thing you _didn't_ give her, and the only thing she _really_ needed."

"Duty must come before the heart," Shifu said firmly. "The responsibilities of a Kung Fu Master must _always_ go before your own personal wishes."

"I don't believe that," Li hissed.

"And _that_," Shifu replied, "is why I sent you away."

Turning, Master Shifu made his way along the path back toward the Jade Palace.

~..~..~..~..

That night, Po was serving up dinner as the inhabitants of the Jade Palace entered the make-shift dining room. The regular kitchen was too small, so the meal was served in the Hall of Warriors, beside the Dragon Mirror Pool.

Tigress made a point of sitting with Li and his family at the far end of the table, as far away from Shifu as she could. Li had told her of their conversation by the Peach Tree, and she was not in the mood to speak with her Master at the moment.

"Yue-Yan?" Master Bunny greeted as her old friend entered, coming forward and bowing eagerly. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!"

"It's great to see you as well, Shu," Yue-Yan smiled.

"Wait," Shifu's attention was caught. "You two know each other?"

"Yue-Yan and I met in Gong Man city," Master Bunny informed him. "She was the one who encouraged me to come to the Jade Palace and train in Kung Fu."

"And I'm glad to see you've achieved you dream, my friend," Yue-Yan smiled happily.

"Gong Man City?" Shifu repeated, confused. "When did you live in Gong Man City, Yue-Yan?"

"Alright, everybody, have a seat!" Po announced to the room. "Dinner is served!"

Master Bunny took Yue-Yan by the arm and escorted her friend to the table.

"I would love to see how your Tai-Chi training has evolved, Yue-Yan," Master Bunny said quietly to her friend. "Would you object to a friendly sparring match?"

"Oh, no, Shu, I'd love to," Yue-Yan agreed happily.

Shifu stared, shocked that two women he thought he knew very well were actually friends and he hadn't even known.

Shifu sat down at the dining table, and found himself between Xi-Wong and Wen.

"Master Shifu," Xi-Wong greeted warmly. "Thank you for inviting us to the Jade Palace."

"Indeed," Wen added, taking a sip of tea that Yue-Yan had just poured. "It is a great honour."

"The honour is mine," Shifu answered formally. "I assure you." He looked up as Yue-Yan poured him a cup of green tea, her movements confident and graceful.

"Do you still take your tea with honey, Shifu?" Yue-Yan asked him, though she avoided his eyes.

"Yes," Shifu replied slowly. "But you are a guest, Yue-Yan, you shouldn't be serving tea."

"Oh, tea is what I do Shifu," Yue-Yan waved the comment off as she went about her work.

"Yue-Yan ran the tea house in our village," Xi-Wong supplied, "as well as the infirmary."

"Really?" Shifu asked, a small smile playing around his mouth. "She has always had a gift for healing."

"Yes, she has," Wen commented, and Shifu started slightly, having forgotten that he was there.

"Uh, how is your son, Wen?" Shifu asked, helping himself to a couple of dumplings.

"He is doing well, thanks to Yue-Yan's care," Wen answered.

"You could not ask for anyone better than Yue-Yan," Xi-Wong said proudly. "She is the best healer in the village, and completely selfless. Why," he continued, "when Wen's village arrived, refugees from an earthquake, Yue-Yan did everything she could to provide for every person in need, including Wen and his son."

Shifu froze mid-bite as his mind processed what Xi-Wong had just said.

"Wait," he swallowed. "What?"

"Hey dad," Po waved to Xi-Wong from further down the table. "Come here a minute?"

"Please excuse me for a moment," Xi-Wong bowed before getting up to join his son, leaving Shifu with Wen.

Slowly, the Kung Fu Master turned to the village leader beside him, who was calmly finishing his soup.

"You're not married to Yue-Yan, are you?" Shifu asked quietly.

Wen swallowed.

"No," he answered just as quietly. "I am not."

"But you knew that's what I would assume," Shifu pressed, "once I found out who you were."

"I am not responsible for your assumptions," Wen answered calmly before standing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take some food for my son."

Wen picked up a bowl of soup and made his way out of the room. Barely had he made it out the door, when he found his path blocked by Shifu.

"Why did you let me assume that you and Yue-Yan were married?" Shifu demanded. "Why didn't you correct me? It could have been quite embarrassing later on."

"Your embarrassment is not mine," Wen answered with dignity. He tried to move on, but Shifu blocked him once more.

"You would have knowingly allowed the Master of the Jade Palace to be humiliated, when he had given you and your son sanctuary in your time of need?" Shifu demanded. "Why?"

Taking a breath, Wen adjusted his glasses nervously, before standing as tall as he could.

"Yue-Yan and I did have had an arranged marriage," Wen began carefully. "But while we did not love each other, we did care about each other. She cared enough to allow me to find love for myself, and I did." He lowered his eyes. 'My wife died three years ago."

"I'm…sorry," Shifu admitted.

"Now, the universe has led me to finding Yue-Yan again," Wen continued. "And I see that while she has travelled, like she always wanted to, and is happy in her work, she still cares for you, Shifu."

Shifu's eyes widened, and he had to take a moment to remember how to breathe.

"She does?"

Wen frowned. "She even remembers how you take your tea."

Shifu lowered his eyes, considering.

"But you refused her," Wen reminded the Kung Fu master pointedly. "You put your Kung Fu before your heart, and you refused her. And something tells me that you haven't changed much over the years." Wen met Shifu's gaze, unafraid. "And I still care enough about Yue-Yan to try and help her avoid getting her heart broken yet again, because of you."

Wen stepped around Shifu and continued on his way, and this time, Shifu let him go.

~..~..~..~

"Something doesn't feel right about all this," Li commented as Master Tigress took him for a tour of the Jade Palace after dinner.

"Which part?" Tigress asked flatly.

"The events that have been occurring lately," Li clarified. "Master Bunny mentioned there were other natural disasters happening around the area. Floods, fires, earthquakes, rock slides…Other villages apparently had some tigers too, and while most of the villagers survived, the tigers disappeared. Their bodies weren't found among the dead."

"What are you trying to say, Li?" Tigress asked her brother, not understanding.

Li sighed, shaking his head.

"I dunno," he admitted. "I probably just paid too much attention to my dad's stories growing up."

"What stories?" Tigress asked interestedly.

At that moment, Da-Xia came running up.

"Get to the training hall, quick!" She told them excitedly. "Master Bunny's fighting Yue-Yan!"

~..~..~..~..~

Yue-Yan had hoped that this would be a private match between Shu and herself, but as soon as Po and Cheng overheard them, Yue-Yan knew that it was going to be a public show.

Sure enough, as she and the first female Council member squared off in the training hall, the room was filled with spectators.

"Go Yue-Yan!"

"Go Master Bunny!"

"This is just a friendly match," Yue-Yan reminded them all.

"We can still cheer you on though, right?" Cheng called from the sidelines, where he was sitting with his brother and sisters.

Sighing, Yue-Yan looked over at her friend, who shrugged nonchalantly before bowing.

Bowing in return, Yue-Yan took a breath, and got herself ready.

"What is going on in here?" Shifu demanded, pushing himself to the front.

"Master Bunny's gonna spar Yue-Yan," someone told him eagerly.

'What?' Shifu's eyes searched until he saw Yue-Yan assume a ready position.

"But-" he stammered. "Yue-Yan can't fight."

"Oh yes she can, Shifu," Li said firmly from behind him. "Yue-Yan taught every panda in our village. So I suggest you watch and learn."

Silence settled over the room, and soon, everyone was waiting.

Master Bunny was the first to attack. Practically flying across the room, her kicks were too fast to follow. Yue-Yan blocked most, but the last one got her in the side. A worried gasp rose up from the spectators, but Yue-Yan proved she was fine as Master Bunny attacked once more, by deflecting, and sending her flying to one side. It was only because of her fast reflexes that Master Bunny didn't plunge into the spectators gathered.

"Go Yue-Yan!" Li cheered.

The match continued, with the Master of the Bunny style of Kung Fu using her trade mark agility and kicking techniques, and Yue-Yan using her Tai-Chi-style 'absorb and deflect', combined with highly precise strikes, the two fighters were rather evenly matched, each taking a few knocks, but also holding their own against each other.

Eventually, the two came to a standstill, and, in unison, bowed to each other, signaling the end of the match.

"Thank you Master Bunny," Yue-Yan smiled, panting slightly.

"Thank you, Yue-Yan, my friend," Master Bunny bowed.

Cheers erupted from the crowd, for it had been a very entertaining fight.

"That was so cool, Yue-Yan!" Lian ran forward and hugged the red panda. "You nearly redirected Master Bunny through the wall!"

"Master Bunny!" Po cheered. "That was so cool! How fast were those _kicks_. Awesome!"

"Alright everybody!" Xi-Wong called for attention after a few more minutes of congratulations. "After that very impressive display of skill, it has been a long day for all of us, and I believe it's time to say goodnight."

The kids began to grumble in protest, as their parents led them out of the hall and towards their beds.

Yue-Yan had just said goodnight to Lian and Maylin, when she turned to find Shifu standing before her.

"Shifu,"Yue-Yan greeted, bowing.

"That was…" Shifu began awkwardly, "quite a display of skill, Yue-Yan," he admitted. "Well," Yue-Yan drew herself up proudly. "I have learnt a few things since I last saw you, Shifu."

"Clearly," Shifu said slowly, his ears drooping slightly as he remembered the last time he saw Yue-Yan. Or didn't…

The silence stretched as they continued to regard each other in the now empty hall, both wanting to speak, but not knowing what to say.

"Well," Yue-Yan sighed as she bowed to take her leave. "Goodnight, Shifu."

Shifu grimaced as she turned away. He had always been a coward when it came to her…

Screwing up his courage, Shifu took a deep breath.

"Yue-Yan?" He called.

Yue-Yan paused at the door, looking over her shoulder.

"Yes, Shifu?"

"Umm…" Shifu's mind went blank as he moved forward, as he tried to think of something, _anything_, to say.

"Have you seen the peach tree?" He asked.

Yue-Yan shook her head.

"Master Oogway planted it. It's my favourite place in the grounds," he told her slowly, folding his arms so she wouldn't see them shaking in the light of the full moon. "Would you like to see it?"

Yue-Yan nodded, smiling.

"I'd love to."

Shifu gestured in the direction of the hill.

"It's this way," he said.

Together, they walked along the path to the peach tree, and Shifu felt memory after memory fill his mind.

"Yue-Yan," he began, "I'm … sorry I never replied to your letter," he told her, his eyes looking across the Valley. 'Even now, you don't have the courage to even look at her' he berated himself.

"It's alright, Shifu," Yue-Yan told him. "It was a long time ago and I've long since forgiven you."

"No, it's not alright," Shifu told her, finally turning to face the one he had loved so long ago. "I couldn't bear the thought of being the cause of your dishonor. I thought that if I let you go, without a word, you would hate me, and it would be easier for you to move on with your life."

"Hate you?" Yue-Yan repeated in surprise. "I was hurt, to be sure, Shifu, but I could never hate you. You're too honourable for that."

"I'm flattered you regard me so highly," Shifu said. "I really don't deserve it." He sighed. "I've made so many mistakes in my life, Yue-Yan."

"No one's perfect, Shifu," she told him.

"Understatement of the Dynasty," Shifu muttered.

"I've made mistakes too, you know," Yue-Yan continued. "I can't believe how selfish I was, trying to make you leave the Jade Palace for me."

Shifu's head shot up. "What?" Yue-Yan had thought she had been selfish?

"You loved Kung Fu so much," Yue-Yan took a seat at the base of the Peach tree, hanging her head guiltily. "You never said it, but I know how much you wanted to be the Dragon Warrior yourself, and gain the Dragon Scroll. That was your _dream_…and I tried to take you away from that."

Shifu regarded the woman before him with surprise. How could she think her actions were selfish?

"I was never meant to be the Dragon Warrior, Yue-Yan," he told her gently. "The universe had a greater path for me to take."

"Yes," Yue-Yan smiled, raising her eyes to view the Kung Fu Master. "You're becoming the next Oogway instead."

Shifu's eyes widened.

"I could never hope to be as great as Master Oogway," said humbly.

"Doesn't every student think that of their Master?" Yue-Yan put forward. "And is it not every Master's greatest wish for their student to surpass them? How else would our knowledge and wisdom continue to grow and evolve over the generations?"

Shifu stared at Yue-Yan in awe. She was certainly no longer the wide-eyed girl who sat, enthralled at his stories of kung fu and travel. No, she had travelled and seen the world for herself, and carried the wisdom of her experiences with her now.

"Yes, indeed it is," Shifu agreed softly, before looking up as a movement caught his eye.

A blossom from the peach tree had fallen, and the couple watched as the beautiful flower drifted slowly to the ground.

Cautiously, Shifu picked up the blossom, and handed it silently to Yue-Yan. Smiling in gratitude, Yue-Yan tucked the blossom behind her ear.

"So," Shifu began awkwardly, "where did you learn Tai Chi?"

Yue-Yan smiled.

"Gong Man City," she answered proudly. "That's where I met Shu."

"Tell me the story," Shifu invited, taking a seat under the tree.

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: What did you think?

I was originally planning on just having Shifu say 'goodnight' to Yue-Yan and let her go, cutting out the scene of Shifu and Yue-Yan at the Peach tree, but I figured, after his confrontation with both Li and Wen...I figured _something_ must have gotten through somewhere.

I liked my little addition at the ending with the peach blossom. The Peach Tree, I think, represents Oogway's spirit still overlooking the valley and his students. I think that he would be trying to help Shifu, especially now that both Shifu and Yue-Yan has had time to follow their dreams of travel, study and training. I believe Oogway would want to tell Shifu that it is okay for him to open his heart once more, and try to make up for his past mistakes. The Peach Blossom was just how I would imagine Oogway giving his 'blessing' as it were.

And we'll see how this affects Shifu's decisions later in the story- his old habits of 'duty first' compared to his relatively new path on following the 'duty to his heart'.

What did you think?

I was thinking of extending this chaper to include a key part of the next chapter, but as this one was so Shifu-centric, I didn't want to take that focus away. It also makes this chapter appear more as the 'calm before the storm' which I think will make the next chapter more dramatic.

In the next chapter, it's going to kick into high gear, as the events leading up to the finale will begin to unfold, and yes- finally- Po and the Five will find out that Li is Tigress' brother.

Please leave a review! I love feedback!

Celino.


	8. Chapter 7: The cat's out of the bag

Author's note: Hi everybody! Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed, I really appreciate your feedback. Here is the next chapter: It's a bit short, but very dramatic, as we begin to lead up to the finale, and yes, the Five and Po finally learn that Li is Tigress' brother... But it may not be in the way you'd expect!

~..~..~..~..

"So, what were you saying before?" Tigress asked her brother as they left the barracks, having just put Li's children to bed, only after promising them a session in the training hall the next day. Li had been adamant, however, that they were only to use the wooden soldiers and the Jade tortoise.

"About what?"

"About the story that…our father… used to tell."

"Well," Li began. "It's called 'the Legend of Long," he glanced at the Kung Fu Master inquiringly. "Have you heard of it?"

Tigress shook her head.

"No."

"Ah," Li nodded in understanding. "Well, I think dad just used it to ensure my good behaviour- not that it really worked, of course," he grinned. "But, according to him, every tiger should know the story, so I probably should tell you."

"I'm listening," Tigress told him.

"Well," Li began slowly, "Long was a great dragon, a sorcerer, who had the power to control the elements. But his greatest power, and the one that most people feared, was his ability to control people's minds."

Tigress raised her eyebrows. This certainly sounded like a good story.

"Now, even with all this power," Li continued, "Long still had an army under his command. And Tigers were his prime choice for his soldiers, as they were considered to be the most powerful warriors of all China."

Tigress smiled slightly, now she could see why a tiger would tell this story to their children.

"Now, one day, a new warrior appeared in Long's Kingdom," Li continued. "And he had developed this new method of fighting. Intrigued, Long asked to learn, and when he had learned everything he could from his teacher, he turned on him. But his teacher hadn't taught him everything, and was eventually able to defeat Long, and imprison him. The tigers who were Long's soldiers were made outcasts, as people still saw them as a symbol of Long's tyranny." He smirked, remembering. "My dad used to say that Long only took first-borns into his army, as they were the strongest. So, if I didn't do what I was told, they would find Long and give me to him."

Tigress leaned forward. "Who was the warrior who defeated Long?"

Li shrugged. "I can't remember his name."

Tigress frowned, "and _how_ did he defeat Long?"

Li shook his head. "The Legend has never mentioned it, as far as I can remember," Li answered thoughtfully.

"And," Tigress continued. "Why do the events lately remind you of the story?"

"Well," Li replied. "Long was able to manipulate the elements. He would use fire to burn a village down, or flood a valley in order to take it over." Li frowned slightly before shrugging. "I guess all the natural disasters just reminded me of the story, is all."

Tigress lowered her eyes thoughtfully. The events did sound unusual. Never had there been so many disasters in such a short space of time.

However, they couldn't defend against nature. Only prepare, and then offer support to those in need afterward.

"Come on," Tigress gestured for her brother to follow her. "Let me show you my favourite place here."

"Is it the training hall?" Li asked, only half joking.

"No," Tigress answered seriously. "Follow me".

Li followed his sister as she ran straight at a wall, only to jump and begin climbing.

Curious, Li followed, shadowing her as she jumped, ran and climbed her way up until they reached the roof of the Jade Palace.

"Here?"Li queried, as they came to a stop.

"Yes," Tigress walked forward to view the Valley at it stretched out far beneath them.

"I used to come up here as a child," Tigress explained, "when I wanted to be alone, so that Shifu couldn't find me." She sighed. "I'd often be thinking of how much of a failure I was."

Li approached his sister.

"Why did you think you were a failure?" Li asked. "Was it in your training?"

Tigress shook her head. "That's why I didn't want Shifu to find me," she stated. "I wasn't thinking how I was failing as a _student_, but how I was failing as a daughter." Tigress gazed out over the Valley, her eyes far away. "I would come here and wonder: why doesn't he love me?"

"Lin," Li whispered.

"After being up here a while, I'd tell myself to harden up, and stop feeling sorry for myself," Tigress continued. "I just tell myself that all I needed to do was train harder. Then I'd climb back down, enter the training hall, and begin practicing once more."

Li approached his sister to place a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Tigress said, breathing deeply. "I actually have no idea why I told you that."

"Because you needed to tell me," Li answered gently. "And thank you."

Tigress smiled slightly as she turned to look at her brother, before spotting something else in the distance.

"What's that?"

Li turned, following his sister's gaze.

From their vantage point on the roof, they could not only see the Valley of Peace, but beyond its borders. And located outside the Valley, in the same direction they had travelled from earlier that day, a series of what appeared to be campfires could be seen, like bright, twinkling stars.

"More refugees?" Li suggested.

"Let's go have a look," Tigress suggested. With practiced ease, Tigress positioned herself on the tallest peak on the rooftop, before leaping down into the Valley below.

Controlling her momentum as she fell, Tigress scanned the rooftops of the village houses beneath and, with perfect timing, slowed her decent and landed, poised on a village roof with all the natural grace of a tiger.

Turning, Tigress looked up to the Jade palace on the mountain, where she had leapt from. She couldn't see Li anywhere, although, she granted, he's probably never done a leap like that before…

Thump!

Tigress whirled around to spot her brother perched on a second rooftop nearby.

"Wow!" he laughed. "That was such a rush!"

Tigress gaped. "Was that your first time doing a leap like that?"

"Yeah," Li nodded, shaking his arms and legs out. "I think I did alright, too."

"You did…very well," Tigress admitted. It had taken her years to develop the skill and confidence to do that leap…and he'd done it first try!

"Thanks," Li grinned. "But I just followed you. Anything physical comes easily to a first born tiger."

Tigress frowned slightly. Tigers seemed to place a lot of emphasis on the order of birth, but still…if all first-borns were as naturally gifted as Li apparently was, she could understand why someone would consider them the perfect soldier.

"Now," Li grinned. "Are we just going to stay here all night?"

Snapping herself out of her reverie, Tigress began running across the rooftops of the village as easily as if she were on a forest path, using every trick she knew to ensure speed and efficiency.

Li kept pace with her, mirroring her movements.

"You run well," Tigress told her brother.

"Who do you think taught Da-Xia and my other kids how to run through the mountains?" Li shot back.

Grinning, Tigress kicked into high gear, racing with her brother as they ran.

Po was just leaving Mr Ping's noodle shop, having just finished saying goodnight to his father. Munching on a dumpling, Po noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he spotted two shadows, running across the rooftops. As the figures passed above a lantern in the street, Po cold see in the faint light that the figures were Tigress and Li.

'Now, where are they going?' Po wondered. Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to follow on the ground.

Although, he admitted to himself, that was easier said than done.

'Maybe you shouldn't be doing this, Po," he told himself as he had to run down side streets, trying to avoid boxes and carts stacked outside people's homes, all the while looking up to keep track of the two tigers, who simply had to jump from roof to roof, with no care for the streets.

'I mean," he continued to himself, 'you were not invited on this trip, and if it were something important, don't you think that the rest of the Five would have been told about it?'

Panting, he realized they were reaching the edges of the village. As the two tigers landed, Po hid in the shadows of the last building at the edge of town.

"Alright," Li put forward. "You go to the left. I'll head around to the right, see what I can find," the tiger pointed in the suggested direction, and it was then Po spotted lights in the distance.

_Campfires_.

Po sighed with relief. So it was official business after all.

Po caught himself, frowning. Why was he so relieved?

As Li ran off, Tigress took a moment to assess the safest way to approach the group from her side.

"Tigress!"

"Po?"

Turning, she was surprised to see the Dragon Warrior come forward.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked.

"Well," Po began hesitantly, "I saw you guys running over the Valley, and it looked pretty urgent, so I thought I could help…" he trailed off as the hard core master of the Tiger Style continued to stare him down.

"Unless I'm actually interrupting something?" Po queried. He'd thought it was official business, but he could be wrong…

Tigress frowned in confusion.

"What?" She asked, before shaking her head as Po began stammering. "Never mind, you can come."

"Great!" Po exclaimed before being shushed.

Tigress made her way out beyond the Valley boundary, circling to approach the campsite from the left. Li had already been gone for some time, and while these people may be refugees, there was no guarantee that they were friendly.

And as one of the Protectors of the Valley, it was Tigress' duty to ensure the village's safety.

"So, who are these guys?" Po asked conversationally as they ran, keeping low to the ground, using the scattered rocks and bush as cover.

"That's what we're trying to find out, Po," Tigress told her friend patiently.

Cautiously, the pair crept closer, until they could feel the heat of the closest campfire. Peeking over the edge of a rock formation, Po and Tigress were surprised at what they saw.

"Tigers," Po whispered.

Every campfire was surrounded by tigers sitting calmly on the ground, and while it was a shock to see so many, Tigress counted at least forty, it took a moment for her to pinpoint the reason why she felt a chill running up her spine.

_No one was moving_.

Every single tiger in the camp sat as still as a statue, and the only sound heard was the crackle of the flames, for no one spoke.

"Okay," Po whispered. "I'm _seriously_ creeped out here."

"It's like they're frozen," Tigress added. Something wasn't right.

Suddenly, as one, the tigers leapt to their feet, running toward the far side of the camp.

Po and Tigress followed, doing their best to stay hidden.

They found all the tigers attacking a lone warrior, who sent them flying with a few movements, only to be attacked once more.

In the midst of the battle, Tigress got a glimpse of their quarry.

"Li!" She gasped. Her brother had been discovered. "Come on!" She told Po, preparing to attack. "We have to help him!"

Before they could move, however, the campfires suddenly seemed to come to life, spreading and scorching the earth around the battle field.

The tigers attacking Li backed off instantly, and tall flames encircled the lone tiger, preventing his escape.

Li stood, tense, waiting for the next round.

"Impressive," a voice commented, and Tigress was surprised as a large crocodile came forward from the crowd. "I've never known a warrior to fight so many all at once."

"So what now?" Li demanded, his voice strong. "I fight you?"

"Oh no," The crocodile answered, stepping calmly through the flames without getting burned. "I'd like to offer you a place in my army."

Li growled.

"No thanks."

Pouncing, Li dealt a swift blow to the crocodile's head, only to have a tiger from the sidelines intercept it so that he took the blow for his master. The tiger went flying through the air to land heavily on the ground, unmoving.

"Such power," the crocodile observed, gazing at Li with a calculating look in his eyes.

Li simply went into a defensive crouch, ready for an attack.

"Now's our chance," Tigress whispered, eying the tigers closest to her. If she could take them out, she and Po can clear a path to allow Li to escape.

The crocodile raised a claw, and Tigress' eyes widened with shock as the very earth beneath Li's feet rose up to trap his legs and arms.

"Tigress," Po told his friend slowly, "I don't think our Kung Fu is going to work on this guy."

Encased in rock, Li struggled to free himself.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The crocodile came closer to his victim.

"I am the Dragon, Long," the crocodile announced.

Li froze, and Tigress shook her head slightly. Had she really heard that correctly?

"The Sorcerer?" Li asked skeptically.

"Ah, you've heard of me," the crocodile smiled. "Good."

"You can't be serious," Li shook his head in shock. It was too much of a coincidence.

"Well, you're the one trapped in rock," the Crocodile smiled, "you tell me."

Roaring, Li actually managed to punch and kick his way out of the rock that encased him.

"You will _not_ control me," he hissed, panting.

Long stepped closer, studying the tiger before him intently.

"Such power," he whispered.

Tigress made to attack, but was quickly halted by Po's strong grip.

"Are you crazy?" Po demanded. "What are you going to do if that guy traps you in rock?"

"I have to help Li!" Tigress hissed.

"You can help by not getting yourself killed," Po told her firmly.

"You know," Long said, smiling as he encased Li in rock once more. "I _won't_ have you join my army. You're much too powerful to be a common soldier."

"I'm flattered," Li hissed, struggling to free himself as Long stepped closer, now within arm's reach.

"This crocodile's body is strong, yes, but his mind is _so_ feeble," Long hissed. "Hardly worthy of one such as myself. But you…" Long used a crocodile claw to raise Li's eyes to meet his own, "I can see that _you_ are much more worthy."

Tigress felt as if an icy hand was clutching at her heart.

'What does that mean?' She wondered.

Long gripped Li around his throat, bringing his face forward until they were nose to nose.

"I want you for _myself_."

The crocodile's mouth opened wide as a swirling mass of energy and light shot out of the crocodile and into Li, entering through his mouth, nose and even his ears and eyes.

As the last of the swirling light entered Li's body, the crocodile collapsed onto the ground, moaning.

Tigress and Po watched in horror as Li's eyes opened once more, the irises turning from golden to ebony.

"Yes," Long's voice whispered with Li's mouth as the rock fell away, freeing his limbs. "This is more like it."

The crocodile at his feet moaned as his eyes opened slowly.

"Wha-what happened?" He wondered, before looking up to see Li looking down at him with Long's eyes.

"Oh no," the big croc backed away quickly. "It's you! You were in my head! _Stay away from me!_"

Turning, he tried to flee, but was quickly held down by Long's tiger soldiers.

Calmly, Long reached out with his new tiger arm, drawing flames to his hand in a great fire ball.

"You are no longer any use to me," Long whispered, before sending the fireball flying towards his target.

Po had to look away as the crocodile screamed.

"Oh, that's disgusting," he whispered. "Okay, Po," he panted, trying to keep his dumplings in his stomach, "head between the knees, deep breaths, and think happy thoughts."

Tigress sat still, eyes on the tiger that had been her brother only moments ago.

"Li," she whispered. "No."

Long stood in the clearing, flexing his arms, and getting used to his new body.

"Oh, his mind," the sorcerer smiled. "So much richer than the crocodile's. And his memories…" Pausing, his black eyes flickered, before a grin passed over Li's features.

"Lin," he called out. "Where are you?"

"What?" Po was confused. "Who's Lin?"

But Tigress didn't even hear him. She could feel the snarl building at the back of her throat.

Crouching, she prepared to attack the soldiers closest to her, ready to fight her way to the monster in the centre who thought he could take her brother away.

Just as she was about to pounce, however, Tigress felt Po's arms restraining her.

"Are you crazy?" Po hissed. "You wanna get fried like that crocodile?"

"We have to help Li!" Tigress struggled, her grief making her movements weaker than usual.

"Tigress, I know you care about Li," Po said firmly, "I think that's pretty obvious," he added. "But there's nothing you can do now, and if you go out there, you'll end up just like the other tigers, or like that crocodile. We have to tell the others."

Slowly, Tigress calmed down long enough to see that the sorcerer was staring in their general direction, trying to pinpoint where they were.

"You need to focus, Tigress." Po told his friend. "We need to tell Shifu and the others. We'll figure out a way to save Li."

Reluctantly, Tigress nodded, and Po led his friend back to the Jade Palace.

~..~..~..~..

Evading Long's detection, the pair raced back as quickly as they could to the Jade Palace, calling for their friends and leaders to an emergency meeting in the Hall of Warriors.

Trying her best to keep her composure, Tigress explained everything to her master, the rest of the five, as well as Yue-Yan, Xi-Wong and Wen, the other leaders.

A great silence filled the room once she had finished.

"The Dragon, Long," Shifu whispered in horror.

"I _know_ I've heard of him somewhere before," Po spoke up, scanning his kung fu memory banks.

Tigress cleared her throat.

"Li told me that he featured in a legend." She said slowly, trying to focus on breathing calmly. "A warrior defeated him and imprisoned him."

"Yes," Shifu nodded. "That warrior was Master Oogway."

"That's it!" Po cheered. "'The Legend of Long'. I knew I'd heard of it before!"

"So how did Master Oogway defeat him?" Tigress demanded.

"I…don't know." Po admitted apologetically. "The Legend never said."

"Most likely to keep the knowledge secret," Shifu mused aloud. "Thankfully," he added quickly "The original Legend is in our archives."

"Great," Tigress said turning to leave the room. "Let's go find it."

Shifu took a deep breath.

"You do realize, Tigress," he began gently, "that, as Long is a spirit, the only way to truly defeat him may be to also defeat the one he inhabits."

Tigress froze for a moment before slowly turning back to view her master.

"No," she growled.

"Tigress, this is regrettable, I know," Shifu granted quickly, "and I hope there is a way to save Li-"

"And we'll _find_ a way," Tigress insisted.

"But you have to realize that we may not be _able_ to," Shifu finished firmly.

Tigress stepped forward in defiance.

"I _will_ save him," she insisted.

Shifu took a breath. He wished that he didn't have to do this, but Tigress needed to accept the fact that, perhaps, they couldn't defeat one without defeating the other.

"Now, Master Tigress…" Shifu began slowly. But Tigress snapped.

"You took him from me!" Tigress roared angrily.

Po and the Five looked at each other in confusion, completely lost.

"I was a child! And you took him from me! I needed him!" Tigress didn't even know what she was saying now, her grief and her anger felt like a fire, eating her up from the inside. "And now that I've _finally_ found my brother again, you expect me to allow him to be _killed_, before I've truly begun to know him?"

Crane's mouth dropped open as the other masters stared in shock.

"Brother?" Viper whispered.

"Tigress has a brother?" Monkey mumbled.

"Tigress, that's…" Po whispered. "Amazing! This is great! You finally found your family!"

Tigress continued to stare at Shifu as a growl escaped angrily at her friend's words.

"And…" Po continued awkwardly, "he's just been possessed by the evil spirit of a Dragon Sorcerer...Right…Sorry."

"The circumstances are regrettable, it's true," Shifu granted. "And while we will do all we can to save your brother, Tigress, sometimes sacrifices must be made to uphold the greater good."

Tigress's fists clenched.

"Then _you_ can be the one to tell Li's children," she snarled before storming out of the room.

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: Okay, okay, calm down! Seriously, do you think I would _finally_ let Tigress find her family only to take her brother away from her permanently? I was going to continue on with this chapter, showing them finding the original legend and such, but I thought there was enough drama in this chapter that we could leave it here.

So, next chapter, they find the original legend, and we work up to the finale as Long begins his attack on the Valley of Peace.

Yes, I do have a plan for how Long will be defeated, and _no_ I will not be making it obvious- where's the fun or suspense in that?

I am interested to hear your theories though- I wonder if anyone will get it right?

Please review!


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